Unraveling
by mila-uri113
Summary: This is my version of Season Four, or how I think it should or might go. It picks up right where Season Three left off, with Sydney in Wittenberg. SV, also maybe JI in later chapters. The POV switches from first-person Sydney to first-person Vaughn.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Alias does not belong to me, same goes for all the characters in this fic. They all belong to JJ Abrahms and ABC and Mutant Enemy and all of that. This is simply my way to deal with the dead time before the next season begins, so please don't sue.

A/N: This is my version of Season Four. Some of it is how I'd like things to go, some of it is experimentation, some is how I think it might actually turn out. Anything I get right/wrong is pure accident. Also, in addition to separating this into chapters, I've separated it into 'episodes', mostly as a way to help myself keep it all organized. The story as a whole, as well as the first episode, are titled Unraveling, and everything from there has it's own episode title. Hope that isn't too confusing! :-) I'll use OOOOO to signify change in location or time ot POV.

This is my first fanfic, so reviews would be greatly appreciated.

**Unraveling  
**EPISODE 4.01

"Sydney." I looked up from the papers clutched in my already shaking hands, seeing my father. He followed me here from Los Angeles. Even though I hadn't told anyone my plan, he found me. "You were never supposed to have found this."

"Dad…" I looked down at the papers again, tears in my eyes. Documents so secret he'd locked them in a secure bank safe deposit box in another country. How I had come across all of this… It was practically impossible. A dying woman gave me the number, insisting that both of us were pawns in the same game. I came here, wanting to prove her wrong. I wanted to prove that she lied to me, as usual, and that I wasn't a _pawn_.

The classified CIA folder with the black-light paper was the last thing I expected to find. The documents I held were so classified that accessing the folder was almost impossible. The paper was all black, readable only with a UV lamp that I brought with me from op tech in Los Angeles.

As for the file… It was a project, initiated by my father, the day I was born.

Project Prodigy.

Three years ago, I learned that my father had programmed me to be a spy. He developed a program called Project Christmas. Training children as sleeper agents, so that when the time came, they could be recruited into the CIA and made into super-agents. Strong, intelligent, already trained to use weapons and think in ways most people would never understand. Observant.

These documents revealed something even worse.

"Listen, Sydney, whatever led you to this room-" I cut him off, standing and looking at him. Serious. Angry.

Betrayed.

"You should have _told _me about this!" I snapped. The preliminary documents in the folder didn't relate specifically to me, or to any of the programming used on me when I was a child.

The documents concerned my mother.

My father planned to use me to do to my mother what she had done to him. Everything I went through – believing my mother was dead, getting recruited into SD-6 and then finding out the truth and becoming a double agent, finding out she was alive and that she was KGB, trusting her only to have her betray me and escape and then try to regain my trust – was all a part of some plan. A setup.

He tried to use me to get to her. What was worse, it was in a project sanctioned by the CIA. Everything that happened would eventually drive me back to my mother. I would track her down, find her when no one else could, and bring her to some kind of justice.

Manipulated from minute one.

A million questions flooded into my mind, but I couldn't bring myself to ask them. Mostly, I didn't want to know the answers. The first thing I wanted to ask was if my father had arranged my abduction. The Covenant, capturing me, making me _volunteer _to lose two years of my life… Had that been a part of his project? Had he planned for my disappearance?

Everything I lost… Will, Francie… _Vaughn_.

"Sydney… You have to understand, I had no intention of ever activating the last phase of this project," my father tried again.

"Stay away from me," I spat through clenched teeth. He didn't try and stop me as I walked past him, and out of the bank vault. I didn't care what his excuses were – I didn't want anything to do with people that would use me.

_He is no better than Sloane._

OOOOO

I didn't go back to LA right away. I needed time to think – somewhere where no one would bother me. I needed to try and figure out what had happened, what I had been through… Where everything stood now that I knew I could no longer trust my father, or anything he said.

Lauren Reed told me where the documents were. I tracked her to where the Covenant started a search for a new Rambaldi artifact, and we fought. She told me that I was a pawn – that we were both part of the same game. I ignored her, and she told me the number of the box just before she fell into the chasm. Vaughn shot her. He came after me, wanting to make sure I was all right.

That wasn't because of his wife – that was because of my aunt, Katya Derevko. My mother's sister. She came to us before, giving us helpful Intel. She even helped my father rescue Vaughn and I from a prison in North Korea, where – without her help – we faced execution. However, she was a traitor. I didn't know what her endgame was – just that she had stabbed Vaughn and then tried to kill me. I took the bullets out of her gun, knowing that she'd turned on me when she tried to put a bullet in my head from behind.

Then, there was my sister. I recently learned that my mother had an affair with Arvin Sloane – a man I considered to be my arch-nemesis. That affair gave them a child, my sister, Nadia Santos. I'd rescued her from a woman's determent camp in Russia, bringing her to a safe house. Sloane abducted her from there, using her to get a Rambaldi equation.

That equation apparently led to a Rambaldi artifact; something called the 'Sphere of Life'. I knew all along that Sloane had some more sinister endgame. When I came back from my missing two years – I knew what had happened though I still had no recollection of any of that time – Weiss told me that Sloane was a good guy. He received a pardon from the US government.

The government officials that granted the pardon revoked it just a few weeks ago, and Sloane became a rogue agent. My father faked his execution, as we needed his help to find my sister. Shortly after he had been reunited with his daughter, he and Nadia disappeared. She'd been found in Japan by our CIA tactical team, and taken to a safe house back in the US until we knew what to do with her.

The day I left for Wittenberg to look for the bank box Lauren directed me to, one of the agents at that safe house told me that Nadia had left. Presumably, she was somewhere with Sloane. Whether he abducted her or she left of her own free will was something none of us knew – I naturally suspected the former, but there was no way to be sure. We still didn't have any idea where Sloane went after Japan.

So, that was where things stood. The North American cell of the terrorist organization known as The Covenant – the ones that had abducted me over two years ago and tried to brainwash me to work for them – no longer operated. That cell, run by Sark and Lauren – who was a double agent inside the NSC for the Covenant, in addition to being Vaughn's wife – would flounder without its commanders. Sark hung, once again, in the precarious balance CIA custody. Lauren died, for all I knew, in Palermo. Of course, I hadn't checked, so I didn't know if she survived or not. I would find out eventually, I knew that.

As for the CIA, I couldn't go back until I was sure that I had been cleared of all suspicion. When Lauren realized that he CIA knew she was the Covenant mole, she disguised herself as me, breaking into the CIA operations facility at the Rotunda and attacking many of the agents there. And she shot Marshall, the op tech specialist and one of my friends. I had no idea if he was all right. Among the injured and dead were several other agents an analysis techs, and – of course – the internal investigation believed that _I_ was at fault because of the way Lauren disguised herself.

Of course, that was days ago. I imagined that, by now, they would have interrogated Sark and found out that Lauren was, indeed, the woman that attacked the Rotunda. They wanted her taken into custody, but when she had tried to kill me, Vaughn shot her at least five times, and then she fell into the pit they'd been digging looking for the Sphere of Life.

After that, I told Vaughn that I was going to Wittenberg. I didn't give any specifics; just that I needed to look for something. I had to know if Lauren was telling the truth – if there was a document somewhere that proved what she had told me. About being a pawn in someone else's sinister game. He'd gone back to the Rotunda, classified as a rogue operative himself after he had beat information out of Sark and then gone to kill Lauren himself. Then Katya had appeared and stabbed him.

So, there was a lot to be sorted out.

Just once, I found myself wishing, I wished that I could have a normal day. Some day when I didn't have to worry about who I could trust, who told me the truth and who lied. And, since I had come back from my missing time, a day when I didn't have to see that pained look on Vaughn's face when he thought of everything that we had before I had disappeared. That look that had gotten so much more complicated once he found out who Lauren really was – whom she really worked for.

I wanted to believe that everything could go back to the way it was before. That we could just pretend that the last several years hadn't happened. I'd never disappeared, he never got married… But the intensity of everything that happened, the things we'd both been through… I knew that made it impossible.

I disappeared for two years. He thought I died in a fire at my apartment. I had later been told that I had been present at my own funeral, watching him spread my ashes at sea. He moved on with his life, getting married and leaving the CIA to become a French teacher. When I came back, he started working with the CIA again.

Over the last year, we'd gone through a lot. Lauren tried to be nice to me, finally giving up when she realized that her husband still felt something for me. That I still loved him just as much as I did before I disappeared. Vaughn tried to separate from her, but her father died suddenly and he'd gone back to try and comfort her after his 'suicide'.

It wasn't long after that that we learned that she worked for the Covenant. She betrayed him – their whole marriage was nothing but a lie. She tried to coax him back into the CIA, so that the Covenant could literally _sabotage _our operations. Not only that, but her mother worked for them as well, and had been the one responsible for the death of her father.

My father had told him to kill Lauren. He'd tried to do it. Stalked her, tried to murder her. Katya stopped him, but he ended up shooting her anyway when he came to rescue me at the dig site.

I couldn't begin to imagine the effect that all of that was going to have on him. And, as much as I wanted to be there for him, I wasn't even sure that he would want me to be there. After everything that happened… I wasn't sure he was ever going to be the same person.

Which scared me.

OOOOO

After going to Palermo to track Lauren and Katya Derevko, Sydney went to Wittenberg in order to look for something she thought might be important. Which left me to go back to the Rotunda alone and try to explain why I threatened two senior CIA officers at gunpoint, escaped custody after attempting to murder a suspect ordered to be taken into custody, and disappeared into another country.

Which, needless to say, wouldn't be easy.

The minute I walked into the Rotunda, two of the security team members came up to me and escorted me into a side office used for officer interrogations. One of the directors of the CIA, a man named Mark Newman who came to the Los Angeles base for a meeting with Dixon, waited in the room. I sat down, and he dismissed the two security personnel.

"Agent Vaughn," he addressed me, leaning forward and placing his elbows on the small desk that separated us. "I'm sure you understand why you've been brought in."

"Yes," I answered shortly. I knew I had a lot of explaining to do, but I didn't want to start making excuses and make myself look guilty or like my judgment wasn't trustworthy. Which, in all honesty, it probably wasn't. Finding out that my wife was a double agent for the Covenant and having her torture and attempt to kill me probably affected me more than I wanted to admit, even to myself.

"After the discovery that your wife, Agent Lauren Reed of the NSC, worked for the terrorist organization known as the Covenant, you were instructed to continue as usual, not to let her know that the CIA was aware of her double agent status," Newman began. "When she discovered the truth, she and Julian Sark abducted you, trying to get information on someone referred to as "The Passenger". Information, which, when subjected to the Inferno Protocol, you gave to the Covenant.

"Once released from the hospital, you began forming a rogue operation to carry out the assassination of Lauren Reed. I suppose the most obvious question would be why you ever thought such drastic action was necessary?" he asked, eyebrows risen in question. I took a deep breath, and began explaining.

"After I realized that Lauren was not only sabotaging our missions, but that she was actively involved in a plot to kill me and other members of this agency, I didn't think just taking her into custody seemed appropriate," I replied.

"And the weapons? The resources you had for this rogue op? Where did all of that come from?" Newman questioned.

"A contact of mine. A freelancer," I lied.

Really, the facility I'd used – the weapons, the 'disposal facility' – came from Jack Bristow. Several months ago, we worked with Sloane and another man named Thomas Brill to break Sydney out of NSC custody when the head of the NSC, Robert Lindsay, thought she murdered a Russian diplomat named Andrian Lazarey. I'd seen the facility then, and Jack gave me the key and insisted I kill Lauren myself rather than obsess over her betrayal for the rest of my life.

"I assume you're not going to give me a name?" Newman questioned.

"If I knew a name, I wouldn't give it to you," I answered. He smiled a little, probably already trying to figure out one of the infinite ways he could make me talk. "I also think it's important to mention that I never intended to go through with her assassination."

"And why is that?" Newman asked.

I interrogated Sark. Beaten him would be a more accurate term. Broke his nose, dislocated a shoulder, things like that. Eventually, he didn't have a choice – he had to tell me where Lauren was. When he did, I went there. I followed her. Knocked her unconscious, threw her in the trunk of the car and took her to a warehouse in the middle of nowhere.

She tried to plead with me. To tell me that she hoped the Covenant wouldn't contact her after asking her to marry me to get secrets about the CIA's operations. I almost bought into it the first time, when she and Sark captured and tortured me.

This time, I knew she lied.

"I am going to erase you," I told her. I hung her from a pulley on the ceiling, her feet a few inches off the floor and arms stretched above her head. "I'm going to remove any evidence that you ever existed. You _used_ me," I hissed, "you used my grief, my work, who I _am_. You took that from me. I'm taking it back."

She protested. Said she did love me, but that when Sydney came back I didn't need her anymore and she started working for the Covenant again because she felt 'useless'. I told her she was lying and _never _to say Sydney's name in front of me again.

Then I told her that I hated her. I hated her, but I loved Sydney more, and I wasn't going to antagonize her just to get revenge on the woman that betrayed me. So, I wouldn't kill Lauren.

"I know better," I finally answered.

"I'm sure," Newman replied, obviously not believing me. "Let's change the subject. A woman named Katya Derevko, sister of the infamous Irina Derevko held for several months at this very facility several years ago, attacked you. She stabbed you before you could do anything to Lauren Reed?"

"That's correct," I said with a nod. Just before I began torturing Lauren, Katya came up behind me and stuck a knife in my back. I collapsed. Luckily, I thought to hit the call button on my cell phone before I lost consciousness, so that the CIA would be able to track me. I woke up at the hospital.

"You were taken to Stafford Naval Hospital, where you seized a weapon from Agent Weiss and used him as a hostage to escape custody," Newman continued.

"The only reason I threatened other agents was because I knew Agent Bristow didn't have any knowledge of Katya's betrayal," I explained. "I had to make sure that she wasn't in any danger in Palermo when she went after Lauren."

"And the reason you had to go yourself has nothing to do with the fact that you and Sydney Bristow were once… Involved?" Newman questioned. I clenched my jaw, refusing to say anything for a long moment.

"I went because I was concerned about the safety of a fellow agent," I finally replied, keeping my eyes locked on Newman's. "I don't see what relevance any personal reasons of mine have to this discussion."

"Well, Agent Vaughn, because of your recent rogue operation and attempt to assassinate Lauren Reed, despite being _ordered _otherwise, I think your personal motives have _every _relevance," Newman replied matter-of-factly.

For a long moment, neither of us said anything. I kept my gaze locked where it was, and he finally looked away, shaking his head a little.

"In Palermo," he started again, obviously deciding to move on now, "you arrived after Agent Bristow disarmed Katya Derevko?"

"I saw her on the hill," I answered.

Once I was out of the naval hospital, I got to Palermo as fast as I could, hearing from Weiss that Sydney went there looking for Lauren. The location code that I got from her right before I abducted her led there.

When I arrived, I saw Katya, unconscious with a tranquilizer dart still in her shoulder, lying on the side of the hill. My plan was to take her into custody, bring her into the CIA and find out why she betrayed us. But, I heard sounds of a fight at the dig site below me, and saw Lauren and Sydney there.

I had a gun. I challenged Lauren just as she got Sydney in a headlock. She challenged me the same way Sark had just weeks before – if you love her, you'll put your gun down. Knowing that, if I didn't, Lauren would put a bullet in Sydney's head, I lowered my weapon. Then, when the opportunity presented itself, I shot her.

I think I shot her five times before she told Sydney a number – 1062 – and then fell into the pit that the Covenant unearthed, looking for a Rambaldi artifact. I explained all of this to Newman, insisting that I shot Lauren in self-defense, and that Sydney would back up my story when she came back from Wittenberg.

"And why did Agent Bristow go to Wittenberg, rather than return to Los Angeles with you?" Newman asked.

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "She thought something important was there – that was what the number referred to, but she wouldn't say what. I don't think she knew." Newman nodded a little.

"All right. That's all for now. You're to report to medical services for a review after your injury and your exposure to the Inferno Protocol. After that, we have some tests we have to run. Standard procedure – you understand."

"Yeah."

"Very well. I'll see you in a little while, then, Agent Vaughn."


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Same as before - Alias does not belong to me, so please don't sue.

A/N: Hi again. I know I just did Chapter One last night, but I have this one sitting here and have to upload it cuz... Well, cuz I want to. One thing I forgot to add: Project Prodigy is a term I got out of the Official Alias Magazine. I have no idea if that's in reference to the black folder or something else, but though I'd use it anyway. Okay, that's all for now.

It took three days before I went back to Los Angeles. I didn't know what to do. Go back to the CIA – I had figured that much out. If I didn't, it wasn't like I had anywhere else to go. Sure, I could disappear, but where would that leave me? It would be just like when I had come back from my missing time – my time with the Covenant as Julia Thorne. I'd have no job, no friends, no place to live…

So, finally, I flew back.

I didn't say a word to anyone as I walked into the Rotunda, going straight back to Dixon's office. He was inside, alone, and I closed the door behind me. He seemed surprised to see me.

"Sydney. Everyone was worried about you," he said, standing and coming around in front of his desk. "Have a seat."

"Dixon, there's something I have to tell you," I stated. I didn't sit down – everything I needed to tell him was… I wouldn't be able to sit still enough to stay there, and would constantly be getting up and down.

"All right," he said, nodding. "Go ahead."

"When I left here, after they took Vaughn to the hospital… I went to Palermo to look for Lauren," I began. "I know, it was against protocol, but I felt that she needed to pay for what she did. And, I wanted to see about the Rambaldi device – I needed to know if it was actually there. If Sloane was there looking for it, with Nadia. In Palermo, I ran into my mother's sister, Katya Derevko."

"Yes, Agent Vaughn mentioned that she was the one that stabbed him," Dixon replied with a small nod. He was leaning back against his desk, as I paced the room.

"Right. I tranquilized her, and tried to take Lauren out. One of the workers got in the way – I shot him in the arm. We fought… It was dark and there weren't many other people there. Most of them had already gone for the evening, or run off when I fired the shot.

"Lauren started to say something. About… Being pawns involved in some greater scheme. Of course, I thought it might be a ploy – something to buy time. She told me that if I killed her, I would never know the truth. She told me that she knew who was controlling her, but that I would never know unless I listened to her.

"I got distracted. She won the fight, but Vaughn showed up at the last minute. I guess Weiss told him where I'd gone and he came to make sure that I was safe from Katya," I sighed a little, shaking my head. "Vaughn shot Lauren. She stumbled, but regained her balance and tried to attack us again. He shot here, probably five… Six times. She fell into the hole at the dig site. But, before she did, she told me there was a bank in Wittenberg. A safety deposit box, number 1062, that would tell me what I needed to know."

"So you went there… To Wittenberg?" Dixon asked. He looked concerned, and also a bit confused about what I was telling him.

"I did," I answered. "And, what I found there…" I paused to take a breath. "There was a black folder inside the bank vault. I was left alone in the room, so I broke into the box and removed the folder. Which was locked with an electromagnetic keypad and code. I short-circuited the keypad, and removed an official CIA briefing folder. It had the seal on it and everything.

"Inside were several black sheets of paper. They could only be read with an ultraviolet light that I had with the rest of my gear. On the pages… It was detailed information about a CIA-sanctioned project referred to as "Project Prodigy".

"As far as I can figure… Project Prodigy is a project that was put together by my father. Begun the day I was born. The rest of the file… Details everything I've been through since I was a child. It seems that most of the preliminary work was leading up to my training under the Project Christmas program – the program my father developed for the CIA when I was six years old. The Intel that my mother came here to steal from him.

"But, as I looked at more of the information, it appears that it's not that simple. I was never trained under the Project Christmas program. At least, not directly. This Project Prodigy… It seems that my father was developing a project, funded and fully sanctioned by the CIA… To train me to find and kill my mother."

"What?" Dixon asked, standing up fully now and looking at me in shock.

"According to this project, my recruitment into SD-6, becoming a double agent for the CIA, destroying the Alliance… Possibly even my abduction by The Covenant… Was the work of my father and some of the leading members of the Central Intelligence Agency."

"Your father began this project on the day you were born… He didn't know that your mother was KGB until years later. How could he have known that you were to be programmed to that end?"

"That's the thing – I don't think he did," I answered. "But… Either he _did _know, and that was why he programmed me under this Project Prodigy… Or he began to program me anyway, thinking… I don't know, that I could be brought into the CIA as some kind of a super agent, and then changed the aim of his project once he knew my mother's true alliance." I sighed, shaking my head. Finally, I stepped further into the room and sank into a sitting position on one of the couches in his office, dropping my head into my hands. "And he knows that I know."

"He found you in Wittenberg?" Dixon asked. I nodded a little.

"I have no idea how," I answered. "Just… I heard his voice just a little while after I got there. He told me that I was never supposed to find the files." I shook my head again, looking off to the side of the room. Finally, I looked back at Dixon. "Has he been controlling me from minute one? Has _everything _I've done for the last _twelve years of my life _been nothing but a _lie_?"

"Sydney…" Dixon came over beside me, taking a seat as well and sighing deeply with sympathy. "Even _if _all of this information is true – which, since it came from Lauren Reed, you cannot possibly be sure of that – there's no way to be certain that any of this was really your father's intention. You certainly can't believe that your abduction was _his _fault."

"How else would it have happened?" I asked, standing again. There were tears in my eyes. I wanted to believe what Dixon was saying – that none of this was really his fault, that didn't mean for any of this to happen. But… The more I thought about it – how the Covenant had known what would hurt me the most, what to show me, who to threaten to try and brainwash me…

They knew where I lived. They knew about Francie, they knew everything.

_He had something to do with it._

"The Covenant was listed as a 'rising threat' on the terrorist list the day I disappeared," I started. "They knew about Francie being doubled – they knew about Allison Doren. She didn't work for them at the time. They knew to find her body – her _real _body and plant it at the scene before they set the fire. They abducted me.

"They knew what would hurt me the most.

"Lauren worked for the Covenant. They asked her to come to Los Angeles, to start a career with the NSC. That was why she married Vaughn. To get information from him, sure, but also because it would affect _me _to see him like that, should I ever escape their 'control'," I continued, just stating my thoughts as they occurred to me. Dixon was looking at the crazed look in my eyes, worried, but I couldn't stop talking.

"The only person that would have known all these things was my father. I mean, sure, Sark knew but he didn't work for the Covenant. He worked for Sloane…" Suddenly, I stopped.

_Sloane._

I swallowed thickly, and sat back down, this time on Dixon's desk. And, this time, I didn't do it because I was overwhelmed with emotion and tired of pacing.

I did it before I fainted.

"Sloane," I stated again. I took a moment to catch my breath, and then looked up at Dixon seriously. "Sloane knew all those things. He was the one that gave me the key, leading to the apartment in Rome. Julia Thorne's apartment. He gave me the key, that led me to the desert. Lazarey's hand. That led me to him, that gave me the place in Graz… The hotel where I'd stored the Rambaldi box."

"He knew where you lived, he knew everything that the Covenant needed to abduct you. And, unlike your father, he didn't know that the training you were subjected to under Project Christmas – or Project Prodigy if that's what really happened – would keep you from being brainwashed by the Covenant."

I nodded. So it really _was _Sloane who had been responsible for my disappearance – the two years of my life that I had spent as another woman. When I came back, I challenged him, saying that I knew the responsibility for what happened to me rested on his shoulders, just as with SD-6… And then when he denied it I, stupidly, believed his words.

He lied. Of course he lied. He _always_ lied.

"Director Dixon?" We both looked up to see my father had entered the room, just sticking his head in the door. "Is this a private meeting or may I come inside?"

"Jack. We need to have a conversation," Dixon said, his face steeled. My father came into the room. I saw that he had the black folder – the one from Wittenberg – with him, under his arm.

"Yes. I imagine Sydney told you about this?" he asked, showing the folder to Dixon. He nodded in reply.

"She told me that it was a CIA-sanctioned project to program her to find and destroy Irina Derevko. A project that you began when Sydney was born?" Dixon asked, still looking at Jack. I could see that he wasn't happy about what I had said about the files. Neither was I, but still…

"I have to go," I finally said, getting to my feet.

"Sydney, wait-" my father started, but I interrupted him, holding up a hand to stop him from saying anything more.

"Don't. Please, Dad, I just… I can't do this right now. I have to go home. Get some sleep." With that, I walked out of the office.

OOOOO

I went back to my apartment. I saw some of the other agents at the Rotunda, giving me questioning looks as I passed by them again and left the office. Dixon told me that I should to be back first thing the next morning – they wanted to run me through a debrief and make sure that I was all right after everything with my father and with Lauren in Palermo.

Once I was back home, I collapsed onto the couch. I was too exhausted to do anything but just sit there for a long moment, even when I heard someone knocking on the door. _They'll go away_, I thought. _They'll figure I'm not here and leave, and then maybe I can get some sleep._

"Syd! It's me, I know you're in there, I just saw you in the parking lot." Weiss. I sighed, getting up and going back to the door. I opened it, seeing Weiss there. He rose his eyebrows at me in question. "What the hell is going on? I haven't even seen you in days, Dixon said you vanished again."

"Weiss, it's a long story," I replied with a sigh, leaning against the doorframe.

"Vaughn found you in Palermo. He killed Lauren?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. Last time I talked to him, he was going back to the Rotunda. He had some things to answer for, after… What happened. I went to Wittenberg, there was something I needed to do."

"Come on, Syd, you're being so vague," Weiss said. "We're friends, right?"

"Of course," I stated.

"Then tell me what's going on." I sighed again, looking down at the floor to avoid his questioning gaze. Truth was, I wasn't even sure I accepted what I learned. That my father programmed me to be a spy – that he wanted me to _kill_ my mother. That Sloane really _was _the one responsible for my abduction.

"Can we talk tomorrow?" I asked. Weiss looked at me for a long moment, not satisfied with my answer. But, eventually, he nodded.

"All right," he said. "Tomorrow."

"Thank you."

OOOOO

After almost three straight days of questions and lie detector tests, evaluations and medical checkups, they released from the Rotunda and – finally – allowed me to go home. The only problem was, home was the _last _place I wanted to go. 'Home' was still a place full of things that belonged to Lauren – full of those lies that I couldn't stand to be around any longer.

So, I called Weiss. Of course, he sounded concerned, after I disappeared from the hospital, threatening him and a couple of senior agents at gunpoint, and then left for Palermo. I wanted to explain everything to him, and have someone to talk to that wasn't going to question every word I said.

And, calling Sydney seemed out of the question at this point. I didn't even know whether or not she returned from Wittenberg yet.

Weiss and I met up at a small café not far from where he lived, close to the beach. It was quiet, and gave us the chance to talk about things. I wasn't worried about anyone overhearing our conversation, so I explained everything that happened from when I left the hospital up until calling him that evening.

"So… You killed Lauren?" he asked, obviously more concerned with that than with any of the lie detector or psych evaluation situations I described.

"She could have killed both of us," I replied. "The agency let it off as self-defense. I was defending myself and the safety of another agent." I shrugged a little.

"Yeah, but still, you _shot_ your _wife_," Weiss stressed again. I shook my head.

"I shot a traitor who was _pretending _to be my wife," I corrected. Weiss nodded a little. "This whole thing… It's screwed up, and I'm prepared to deal with that, but I refuse to let it destroy me."

"You know what? That's actually a really good point of view," Weiss replied, nodding a little. I didn't reply. "So… Have you talked to Sydney?"

"No," replied. "Last I knew, she left for Wittenberg. I don't even know if she got back yet."

"I saw her at her place this afternoon. She seemed concerned about something. Upset I guess? Wouldn't tell me why, though," Weiss replied. I just nodded a little. "You haven't tried to call or anything?"

"It's complicated," I replied.

"Right. Complicated. Because?" he asked. I smiled a little in annoyance, shaking my head. "Come on, I just don't get it. She died, you got married, you left the agency, she came back, you found out that your wife was a traitor, she tortured you, and you shot her… What's left to figure out?"

"Can you just drop it?" Weiss's shoulders fell, and he shook his head, looking off into the rest of the café. "Look, I just…"

"No, it's cool. I shouldn't bug you," he corrected. I sighed, nodding in agreement.


	3. Chapter Three

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! I have five after only two chapters. Sorry, reviews make me happy. :-) So, I want to thank: **vademecum**, **Unsigned**, **Fair** **Cate**, **CuteLittleBrit**, and **Heidi** for the wonderful comments and suggestions.

Also, I feel that I should say something about the first couple of chapters: I know I've been a bit repetitive. I really don't mean to do that, or to leave off like I do, but I had to get everything straight in my head before I could work with new material - sorry that it's redundant. As for where I broke up the chapters, I've got a lot of material to work with, and I'm trying to fix that. I appreciate the suggestions, though - it's helpful to know where to improve your writing.

One more thing. This is the first chapter that will include song lyrics. I have several, and though I don't use them everywhere, I have added them where I think certain songs fit or add to what I wrote. The two in this chapter are "The Lover After Me" and "I Don't Know You Anymore", both by Savage Garden.

OOOOO

For the first time since I'd been back… I wanted to _remember_. The Covenant, the people I met, where I was, what I did… Everything I said, everything I did for them, the whole thing. As horrible as it must have been, I wanted to know so that I had something to go on. _Anything_ to go on. Some way to track Sloane, some way to know if he had really _done _this to me.

I slept on and off all afternoon, wondering what might happen tomorrow. I wasn't looking forward to rehashing the entire story I told Dixon that afternoon, especially since I didn't really know what was going on yet. There were still more questions than answers. Whenever I figured one thing out, it seemed that it generated a million more questions.

But, that seemed to be the way my whole _life_ worked anymore.

I sat in the living room, watching some old documentary on television when the phone rang. I glanced at the clock, seeing that it was after ten. Despite my exhaustion, and how much I didn't really want to talk to anyone, I picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey." Despite my anxiety over the current situation – everything that had happened in Palermo, and even in the weeks before that – I felt a kind of calm and relief at hearing that voice on the other end of the phone.

_Here I go again I promised myself I wouldn't think of you today  
__It's been seven months and counting  
__You've moved on  
__I still feel exactly the same  
__It's just that everywhere I go all the buildings know your name like  
__Photographic memories of love  
__Steel and granite reminders  
__The city calls your name and I can't move on_

"Hey," I replied, smiling softly despite myself. "How are you?"

"All right," Vaughn replied. "Tired, but that's to be expected after three days of questions and debriefing and tests to make sure I haven't completely lost my mind." He laughed. "You?"

"I'm okay," I answered. Really, I wanted to tell him how tired I felt. How I spent my time by thinking too much. I missed the honesty we used to have. We could tell each other _anything_.

_Ever since you've been gone  
__The lights go out the same  
__The only difference is  
__You call another name  
__To your love  
__To your lover now  
__To your love  
__The lover after me_

"Did you go to Wittenberg?"

"Yeah."

"And?" I paused for a moment.

"I found files… A project that my father started thirty years ago."

"Did it have anything to do with you?" Again, for a moment, I didn't say anything. "Syd?"

_Am I all alone in the universe?  
__There's no love on these streets  
__I have given mine away to a world that didn't want it anyway  
__So this is my new freedom  
__It's funny I don't remember being chained  
__But nothing seems to make sense anymore  
__Without you I'm always twenty minutes late_

"It did, but I'm not sure what it means yet. It's back at the Rotunda with Dixon for analysis. They're going over it and planning to debrief me tomorrow morning." Vaughn didn't reply. I smiled a little; comforted just because I knew he was on the line, even if neither of us said anything for several minutes. "They cleared you?"

"Yeah. They said I'll probably have to go back to basic desk work or analysis for a while, until I'm back at full strength."

_Ever since you've been gone  
__The lights go out the same  
__The only difference is  
__You call another name  
__To your love  
__To your lover now  
__To your love  
__The lover after me_

"That makes sense." Again, neither of us said anything for a moment. I sighed deeply, wanting to say… There was _so _much I wanted to say, but I knew it wasn't the time. Everything would take some time before it got back to how it was – if that was even a possibility anymore.

"Well, you have to be back first thing tomorrow. I should let you get some rest."

"Vaughn?"

"Yeah?"

_And time goes by so slowly  
__The nights are cold and lonely  
__I shouldn't be holding on  
__But I'm still holding on for you_

_I miss you, I wish you were here. I wish that we could just work all of this out and that it would be simple again. Like it should be._

_Like it should be _forever

"Nothing. I'll see you tomorrow." I pressed my lips together, fighting back tears. Everything I wanted to say seemed… Inappropriate. Considering that happened to him, all he went through, it was like I didn't have a right to say those things to him.

_Here I go again  
__I promised myself I wouldn't think of you today  
__But I'm standing at your doorway  
__I'm calling out your name because I can't move on_

"Yeah. Night." And then, the line was dead.

_Ever since you've been gone  
__The lights go out the same  
__The only difference is  
__You call another name  
__To your love  
__To your lover now  
__To your love  
__The lover after me_

I started to cry.

OOOOO

I called Sydney.

It seemed stupid now, when I thought about it. I swore it seemed like a good idea at the time, but then what monumentally stupid idea doesn't? Our conversation had been totally superficial, and before either of us said anything with any kind of meaning or feeling whatsoever, I hung up.

I chided myself about it for hours – the whole thing. Yeah, sure, it seemed like things should be simple – that was what Weiss had said. But they weren't. Far from it. Despite everything, it was _not _simple.

And what had I done the _entire _time spent on the phone?

I sat in my kitchen and stared at my wedding ring, still on my finger. I didn't even know why. It was strange – I felt like I betrayed something. A wife I killed days ago, who only married me as an assignment. To steal secrets from the CIA and pass them back to the very same organization that had abducted the woman I loved, making me believe she was dead for two years.

_I would like to visit you for a while  
__Get away and out of this city  
__Maybe I shouldn't have called  
__But someone had to be the first to break  
__We can go sit on your back porch, relax  
__Talk about anything it don't matter  
__I'll be courageous if you can pretend  
__That you've forgiven me_

_Why am I even still wearing this?_ I asked myself, looking down at the ring. After talking to Sydney, I went into the bedroom and removed my things, leaving them in the living room and closing the door behind me. I didn't want to go _near _that room ever again. I would have to move eventually.

Lauren was dead. I knew she betrayed me, and I still had the stupid ring on. I left the house shortly after that, going to a little bar nearby. I sat there, wondering why I was too much of a chicken to try and work things out with Sydney.

_Cuz I don't know you anymore  
I don't recognize this place  
The picture frames have changed  
And so has your name  
We don't talk much anymore  
We keep running from the pain  
But what I wouldn't give to see your face again_

_Probably because I'm still not sure what to think after…_ I stopped my own train of thought, staring down into the untouched drink in front of me.

I'd thought a lot, over the past year, about what it all felt like. Dropping Sydney off at her house, telling her I booked a hotel for a weekend in Santa Barbara. Saying I'd be back to pick her up in a little while. I went home, after the debrief at the Rotunda, a smile on my face the whole time. Packed some things, and gone back to her house.

As I drove, I saw a fire engine go by me. I didn't think much of it. Then a second raced past, and a third. I thought it was strange, but I didn't think anything was wrong. I got to the street. I turned the corner.

And saw Sydney's house on fire.

The terror and the adrenaline hit me at the same time. I sped up to the house, parking my car. I got out, rushing up to the house, only to be stopped by a couple of fire fighters. They said it was too hot to go inside – the fire was too strong.

I heard yelling. Will. He crawled out of the house, trying to get help. I went to him, getting an ambulance to take him to the hospital. Someone stabbed him – he couldn't say what happened. He lost so much blood that he became delirious.

They got the fire out. I stood on the lawn for hours, pacing, waiting for something – _anything_ – that might tell me that Sydney was alive, that she made it out like Will.

I heard the firefighters talking. They said they found remains. Inside.

Two bodies.

I shoved my way inside, going into the bedroom. Everything was burnt and broken; I could smell ashes and flame everywhere. I stepped into the room, and… I didn't even have to look around. I just _knew_.

_Springtime in the city  
Always such relief from the winter freeze  
The snow is more lonely than cold  
If you know what I mean  
Everyone's got an agenda, don't stop  
Keep your chin up you'll be all right  
Can you believe what a year it's been?  
Are you still the same? Has your opinion changed?_

One of the bodies they removed from the wreckage was Francie. The other… The other was Sydney.

She was dead. I stood outside and watched the place burn to the ground.

And she was _dead_.

I left the agency. There was nothing in it for me anymore. Started dating Lauren after almost a year of grieving for Sydney. I started teaching French at a local High School, doing the occasional analysis for the CIA but never really anything high-risk or too important.

Then I got that phone call.

"Mister Vaughn. It's been a long time."

"Kendall. What's up?" I expected there was another project – usually one of the junior agents would call me and tell me to pick up the material and return it later, but it wasn't that strange that Kendall would call.

"There's something I need to talk to you about. Something important," Kendall replied.

"I told you, I don't deal with any highly classified information. I'm not a part of the agency anymore," I insisted.

"I know," Kendall said. "But, I've got something here that I think you might want to know about. Something that concerns Agent Bristow." At first, I wondered why he'd call me about something to do with Jack. And that was when he said it.

"She just made contact from Hong Kong. She's alive."

Those words hit me like a weight in the chest. I'd been standing at my desk in my classroom, sinking down into the chair when I heard him say 'she's alive'. _She's alive._

_Sydney is _alive

_Cuz I don't know you anymore  
__I don't recognize this place  
__The picture frames have changed  
__And so has your name  
__We don't talk much anymore  
__We keep running from these sentences_

But what I wouldn't give to see your face again 

Kendall asked me to go to Hong Kong. He said that she didn't remember what happened to her – where she was, nothing. Kendall needed someone she knew, someone she would feel comfortable with, to go and tell her what we knew. That she went missing for almost _two years_.

Since then, I tried to make sense of everything. The _only _reason I married Lauren was because I believed Sydney was dead. Really _believed_ it. I was there at her funeral, I scattered her ashes into the ocean.

And now, all of a sudden, she was back. She was _there_, she was alive and healthy and _right there_.

And I didn't know what to do.

_I know I let you down  
Again and again  
I know I never really treated you right  
I've paid the price  
I'm still paying for it every day _

Now, it seemed like everything was over. Lauren was gone; everything could go back to how it had been before she disappeared, and yet… I wasn't sure it should. I lost myself for months after the fire, and barely came back from it.

What if something else happened? What if something else came between us, her father or what she had learned in Wittenberg, if anything?

What would happen to me if I lost her again?

_So maybe I shouldn't have called  
__Was it too soon to tell?  
__Oh what the hell – it doesn't really matter  
__How do you redefine something that never really had a name?  
__Has your opinion changed?_

I shook my head, trying to get the thoughts of everything that happened in the last three years out of my head. Thinking about it over and over wasn't going to do me any good. I never reached a conclusion before, why should now be any different?

_Cuz I don't know you anymore  
I don't recognize this place  
The picture frames have changed  
And so has your name  
We don't talk much anymore  
We keep running from the pain  
But what I wouldn't give to see your face again_

I sighed, looking down at my wedding ring again. After a moment, I pulled it off, seeing a trashcan behind the bar, only a few feet from where I sat. I glanced at the ring one last time, and then with a smile on my face, tossed it into the trash.

_I see your face  
__I see your face_


	4. Chapter Four

A/N: Thanks to **SlayGal** and **Unsigned **for your reviews on chapter three! I'm glad everyone likes this fic!! :-) This chapter is a bit short, because it's the end piece of my first "episode" - hope you like it!

OOOOO

The next morning, I looked like hell.

After the conversation with Vaughn, I spent half the night in tears. Then I drank half a bottle of tequila to try and forget all of the pain I was going through. Lauren left the picture; I was free of the Covenant… I was _so close_ to having Vaughn back, yet I felt that I couldn't try anything. I risked pushing him further away. If I didn't give him the space he needed…

The whole thing drove me crazy every time I thought about it. There weren't any obstacles between Vaughn and I anymore, but it still _felt _like something was there. Like everything visible was out of the way, but there was still a glass wall between us. I wasn't sure I could get around it. I didn't even know if I could bring myself to _try_.

I got up, taking several aspirin to get rid of my headache after drinking too much the night before. Then I put on a good deal of cover-up makeup to try and hide the fact that my eyes were puffy and red, finally going to the Rotunda to meet with Dixon and the debrief team.

I went into the conference room. Dixon was there, and my father. In addition, there were four of the CIA department heads that I met when I started working with them, but never really spoken with. When they introduced themselves, I recognized the names from the files I had found in Wittenberg. They were the ones that had endorsed the project.

"Miss Bristow," one of them – a man that introduced himself as Mark Newman – addressed me. "Please, tell us what information you gained from reading the files about Project Prodigy.

So, I explained.

I started with what I learned in Wittenberg – that I knew of a project initiated by my father, Jack Bristow, on the day I was born, numbered the SAB 47 project. I knew it was a project fully sanctioned by the CIA. I told them that it seemed, at the time I read it, that my father planned a majority of the things that happened over the past several years. Working for SD-6, becoming a double agent for the CIA… I didn't mention anything about the Covenant. I still hadn't quite put the pieces together on that one yet, and didn't want to try and do it here.

I explained that it appeared that my father – upon learning of my mother's affiliation with the KGB – tried to train or program me to find and eliminate her. As I said all of this, I could see my father looking down at the table. I couldn't tell if he felt upset that I accused him of something so horrendous, or if he was guilty. Part of me didn't even want to know.

"Once I examined the files, I came back to the CIA Rotunda to discuss my findings with Director Dixon," I finished. "He seemed concerned about this project, and called this meeting."

"Well," Newman stated, leaning forward and picking up the folder with the documents inside. "It seems that you have read most of the preliminary information on Project Prodigy, and have made the inferences that one would expect from such information."

"Are you saying that my analysis is correct or not?" I questioned. He looked at me and rose his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.

"Some of it is, some of it isn't," he replied. "Truth is, your father pitched this project to us as an… Extreme version of Project Christmas. Rather than training a child as a sleeper agent under that project, leaving them to be activated later, if they showed promise during training, he wanted to take a more direct approach. Consistent training. Literally _building_ an agent to fit the perfect CIA profile.

"Of course, SD-6 was an unexpected consequence of this project. Your father never intended for you to be recruited to another agency. When your mother faked her death, in order to escape and return to the KGB, the project was put on hold. You and your father lost contact, and before you could be brought into the CIA, you were recruited by SD-6."

"And I suppose you're going to tell me that my becoming a double agent for the CIA until the fall of the Alliance was also simple coincidence?" I questioned.

"No," my father stated, taking over for Newman. "After Danny was killed, I believed that I finally had the opportunity to show you what SD-6 really was. Until that time, I knew you wouldn't believe that I worked for them, much less that they were a part of the Alliance."

"So, he told you the truth, and you came to the CIA. You became a double agent, and – through your hard work and your connections with your mother – you brought the Alliance down. And Project Prodigy began operating again, but instead of training you, your father simply wanted to monitor you. He believed that you would be a useful asset in tracking your mother."

"You wanted me to take revenge on her for what she did to you," I said directly to my father, ignoring all of the others in the room. He didn't falter, just kept his gaze locked on mine.

"Sydney, that was never my intention. I simply wanted a chance to bring Irina Derevko to justice. When you disappeared and I began… Working with her, trying to find you once I knew you were still alive, I discontinued work on the project."

"Then why does the file say the status is active?" I questioned.

"Because you are still an active member of this agency, are you not?" Newman asked. I looked over at him. He shrugged a little. "It was never this board's intention to put you in any danger, or to _use _you as an asset to control or even kill your mother. And it certainly wasn't your father who was responsible for your abduction three years ago." I nodded a little.

"I know," I stated. My father looked at me, apparently a little confused. I saw that I would have to explain myself. "I believe that the man at fault was none other than Arvin Sloane. No one else had access to the information needed in order for the Covenant to take me into custody."

"There was one other person," Newman stated. "Your mother."


	5. Chapter Five

A/N: Thanks to **CuteLittleBrit**, **supergirl14**, and **Eyghon** for the reviews, and here's the next chapter! The song used in this one is "Here With Me" by Dido.

**Running the Game**  
EPISODE 4.02

"I don't understand," I said, looking over at Newman in surprise. "I thought my mother was working to bring me _back_, not to…"

"During our interrogations of Mister Sark, we learned that he and Lauren Reed headed up the North American cell of the Covenant," one of the other operatives, a woman named Kelly Brendan, started. "Under the direction of a man named McKennas Cole."

"Cole?" I questioned. McKennas Cole worked for my mother. He raided SD-6 several years ago in search of a Rambaldi artifact, a small ampoule of liquid. When he left the facility, thanks to my giving chase and a CIA team that Vaughn called in, the CIA took him into custody. "I thought the agency took him in."

"We did," Brendan continued. "However, during your missing two years, there was an incident. Cole procured some kind of a poison – we think it was an inside job coordinated with one of the security personal that also disappeared. He faked his own death. When we released him from his holding cell, he escaped."

"And nowhe worksfor the Covenant?" I questioned.

"We have reason to believe he always was," Brendan stated.

As soon as she said that, all of the pieces began to fall into place in a kind of eerie, earth-shattering way. We never discovered if my mother worked with anyone. It seemed that she ran her own operations – going by an alias of The Man and controlling her operatives on a case-by-case basis.

Cole invaded SD-6. Sark assassinated the leaders of FTL and K-Directorate, effectively eliminating both rival intelligence agencies. No one ever heard of the Covenant before I disappeared, but that didn't mean that it didn't exist. My mother had the same aims as the group – to collect Rambaldi artifacts.

When I saw my mother the last time – on the roof of a building in Mexico City just before she escaped – she told me that it _was _me in the Rambaldi prophecy. That I was the only one that could stop Sloane. Stop him from 'realizing the word of Rambaldi', whatever that meant.

If she did work for the Covenant… It would explain how Cole worked for them now, how Sark and Allison came to work for them… She could access to all the information she needed; the same information I assumed came from Sloane.

And she could play my father. She could feed him all the false leads in the world, or some of the right ones. Keeping him occupied looking for me when he really needed to search for her. She could have run the Covenant the whole time, and none of us knew because she seemed to cooperate with him to make sure I was safe. When, in reality, she knew exactly where I was the entire time.

Before I disappeared, she'd started working with Sloane. She may have asked him to turn himself in – get pardoned by the government by disabling other terrorist cells. Eliminating any competition they may have faced for the Rambaldi artifacts. When I came back to active duty in the CIA, they put a plan in motion to get what they needed from me.

The cube. Sloane gave me the key… I led them to the cube.

"According to Mister Sark, Cole admitted to being the 'front man' inside the Covenant – that there was someone higher up than him controlling things for the entire organization," Brendan said, shaking me out of my thoughts. "Given that he worked directly under your mother before he was taken into CIA custody, there is a good chance that he still works for Derevko."

"She was the one… The one who handed me to the Covenant," I said. Brendan nodded a little. I swallowed thickly, looking away from all of them and feeling tears rise once more. I forced them back, digging my fingernails into my palms.

_Of course_, I thought. _It makes perfect sense. She convinced me to trust her, insisting that she wanted to bring down Sloane. But then he extracted her from CIA custody. She started working with Sloane. She gave us just enough true information to make me trust her, and then…_

"Sydney, I understand this is a lot to take in," my father said. I just nodded, not able to say anything for several moments. "And you must understand that it was never my intention, with Project Prodigy, to turn you into your mother's _assassin_."

The board members spent several more hours outlining the specifics of the project for me. Yes, Project Christmas was a less-extreme version of this theory. No, he never administered it to any other children. No, my mother never knew of the project, or that I had been exposed to any kind of operant conditioning. Yes, they found the results to be a success. No, my father never intended to tell me of the project.

Finally, we got into questions about my missions to Palermo and Wittenberg. I explained everything as best I could, trying to compartmentalize the knowledge that my mother was, in all likelihood, responsible for everything I went through during my missing time. I told them that I went to Palermo in order to kill Lauren Reed, and that my attempt failed but Agent Vaughn shot her. I explained that, no, I didn't check to make sure she died, but that after being shot six times and then falling into a large hole in the ground, I very much doubted otherwise.

I told them that she led me to the vault in Wittenberg. How she knew of the project was still a mystery. If my mother hadn't known – if she was indeed the woman behind the Covenant – we didn't know where Lauren obtained that information. But, considering that she died and that, regardless of how I came to it, I knew about it now, there wasn't a lot to be done.

Finally, around two PM, I left the conference room. My father requested that I take some time off – just a few days to regain my bearings and try and cope with what I learned that afternoon. I just accepted it. Normally, I would have insisted that I didn't need time off, and fought the request until I won or until I finally conceded.

This time, I wasn't so sure.

I knew I wasn't 'fine'. That was what I kept telling myself, but I noticed that lying to myself hardly worked anymore. Just the combination of everything – learning that I had a sister, finding that it may have been my mother that betrayed me, finding that Katya was a traitor, trying to kill Lauren Reed, seeing Vaughn go through her betrayal and try to destroy her himself, only to get stabbed and almost _killed_…

'Fine' couldn't be further from the truth.

I stopped at my desk, finding my cell phone and a couple of reports that I still hadn't found time to finish. I took them with me, wanting to get as much done as I could, even if I took some time off. Besides, working on things from weeks and weeks ago wouldn't be as difficult as trying to think about what happened in the last few days.

Before I left, I took a glance around the Rotunda. Ever since I'd come back, I didn't feel as comfortable there. It felt like I didn't belong there with all of the new agents. Like I was some kind of an intruder because I had been missing for two years.

And the 'Agents Killed in Action' plaque still bore my name.

OOOOO

Finally, I went home. I couldn't take it anymore. I felt sick. Sick of being in pain. Sick of the hollow feeling in my chest – that I almost had something back that I lost years ago, and now it was just out of my reach. Of course, I knew exactly what that missing link was, and that I wasn't going to do anything about it. I tried, and it ended just as soon as it started. It left me feeling even worse than before.

I started to think that no hope was better than having my hope crushed just when I started to believe in it. Of course, having no hope didn't make me any less depressed.

_I didn't hear you leave I wonder how am I still here  
__And I don't wanna move a thing  
__It might change my memory  
__Oh I am what I am  
__I'll do what I want  
__But I can't hide_

I sat on my couch and wished I had someone to talk to. I wished that Francie would just come inside, kick her shoes off and tell me it had been a rough day at the restaurant, but that she loved her job anyway. I wished she would sit down next to me and smile – ask me to tell her about my day. I wished Will was there, that he would smile at me and tell me 'you're _you_' and that I would figure everything out because that's what I did best. I wanted to see that warmth in someone's eyes – to know I had someone I could trust left in the world.

But, Francie died three and a half years ago, and Will lived in Wisconsin under the Witness Protection Program. Neither of them would come inside and comfort me – tell me that I was going to get through whatever had me so bummed out and that I'd be good old Sydney again.

I _hated _feeling like this.

_And I won't go  
__I won't sleep  
__I can't breathe  
__Until you're resting here with me  
__I won't leave  
__And I can't hide  
__I cannot be  
__Until you're resting here with me_

The phone started ringing. I shot a look at it. I didn't want to answer. It wouldn't be anyone I wanted to talk to. I already knew the call would be my father, or Weiss, or Vaughn. It wasn't that I didn't _want _to talk to him, it was just… I didn't feel like I _could_. I couldn't talk to him without breaking down, without crying, without wishing…

I couldn't do it without hoping. Maybe someday, things would be different. Things would get better. We could be as we were. Happy. Together.

_It's just not meant to be.  
__  
I _have_ to stop thinking like this._

The answering machine picked up. Whoever called didn't leave a message.

_Don't wanna call my friends  
__For they might wake me from this dream  
__And I can't leave this bed  
__Or risk forgetting all that's been  
__Oh I am what I am  
__I'll do what I want  
__But I can't hide_

I stretched out on the couch and stared at the ceiling.

When I saw Will – when I went to him after realizing that he knew something, that he could connect me to something that I saw during those missing years – I told him that I wasn't a depressed person. _Until now_. Those were my exact words. I never wanted to be a depressed person. I just never realized what I had until it was gone.

_And I won't go  
__I won't sleep  
__I can't breathe  
__Until you're resting here with me  
__I won't leave  
__And I can't hide  
__I cannot be  
__Until you're resting here_

There was a saying about that. If you loved something, you let it go. If it came back, that meant it loved you, too. If not, it was never yours to begin with. Had I done that? Had I let him go when I realized that he was out of my reach?

Had he tried to come back? Or had I pushed too hard? Had I gone looking for what I let go, even though I wasn't supposed to, and that voided the whole experiment? Would I have to try again?

_And I won't go_  
_I won't sleep  
__I can't breathe  
__Until you're resting here with me  
__And I won't leave  
__And I can't hide  
__I cannot be  
__Until you're resting here with me_

Someone knocked on the door. I sat up a little, looking over at it. Then I rolled over on my side and put a pillow over my head. _Whoever it is can come back later. When I'm not too busy feeling completely and utterly sorry for myself. Which is pathetic, I know, but… Sometimes it hurts too much to do anything else._

The knocking continued. Whoever it was didn't say anything, which annoyed me even more. At least tell me what's going on – maybe then I can decide if it's worth getting off the couch or not. Which I doubted – I could just stay on this couch all night.

This went on for probably five minutes before I finally got up and went to the door. I figured it was probably Weiss – coming to check on me. I had promised to explain everything, after all. I already prepared a response. 'Hey, I know what I said yesterday, but after the meeting this morning I really don't feel up to talking. I think I'm just going to get some sleep if that's all right, and I promise I'll talk to you once I feel better.'

Of course, when I opened the door, the whole 'canned speech' went right out the window. Because, the person at the door wasn't Weiss.

It was Vaughn.

"Hey," he said, smiling when he saw me. "I tried calling, but then I thought it would be better if I just came by. Can I come in?"

"Of course," I said, stepping aside. I closed the door after him, following him back into the living room. He sat down on the couch, and I took one of the chairs across from him. "What's up?"

"I wanted to see how everything went today. After what you found in Wittenberg, I wanted to see how you were," he explained.

"Good," I replied. "You know, meeting with the directors of the CIA is never really the most wonderful time, but I did get some answers about my father's project. And, really, I'm…" I trailed off. I was about to say 'I'm fine', but then I remembered that was a lie, and I couldn't say it. Lying had become such a part of my life… I _hated_ it.

"Syd?" Vaughn asked, looking at me with concern. "Are you okay?" I nodded a little – completely unconvincing.

"It turns out, the CIA thinks that my mother has been the primary power in the Covenant since before she turned herself in," I finally explained. "They think… _I _think that she might have been the one responsible for my disappearance."

"Your mother?" he questioned, confused by this. "I thought your father worked with her to try and find you."

"Yeah. But, I guess it's possible that she just kept him occupied with looking for me. Making it seem as though she didn't know what happened to me so that he would be consumed with finding me and not with finding her."

"I guess that makes sense, but… Why?"

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "I mean, there's never a good reason for anything _else _that happens in this world, so I guess this is just one of those things that… Doesn't make any sense. I don't think it's _supposed_ to make sense."

"Syd…"

"I know, I'm sorry," I stated before he could say any more. "I just… I'm having a bad day. Bad _week_." I tried to smile and laugh it off, but I only accomplished a cynical smirk and a grunt.

"Do you want me to go?"

_No! I want… I want you to look at me like you used to. I want to look in your eyes and see happiness. Relief. Love. I don't want to see heartache, or pain or loneliness… I don't want you to look at me and seem hurt because then I _am _hurt…_

"I want everything back the way it _was_," I finally confessed in a quiet voice.

"Sydney… When I thought you died… It felt like something tore me apart, and I had to put all these pieces back together and try and remember if they were in the right place. If the person I became after that was the same one from before the fire. I used to try and figure out if that new person that I put together was still me, or if it was just some kind of shadow of a person that _used _to exist.

"And then, when I got that phone call… From the CIA, telling me that you were just reported in Hong Kong, that they needed someone to go there to tell you what happened… It was like someone finally showed me what the old me used to be like." He paused for a moment, looking off to the side, completely lost in memories. I didn't dare say anything – I knew thinking back on all of that was painful for him. Hell, it was painful for me, too.

"It took me a long, _long _time to try and figure out which person I was, which person I _wanted _to be. Was I really so different, or had finding out that you were still alive just shown me that I just _thought _I was different? And then I realized, it didn't _matter _if I'd put everything back together wrong, because here was someone that knew me and could help me figure it all out, but I had to _want _that back. And, to tell you the truth, that idea _terrified _me. Because, seeing what it did to me when I lost you… I couldn't go through that again."

He was looking right at me now, and I could see tears in his eyes. I imagined that my expression looked a lot like his. Pained. Desperate. Longing for something that I wanted more than _anything _else in the world, but I was so scared to lose it again that I forced myself _not_ to want it. I felt the same way, the whole time… I didn't _want _to want that feeling back because of what it might mean, of what might happen if something went wrong again.

"Finally, I realized that… Trying to convince myself that I shouldn't do anything because of that fear was a lie. Syd, I've spent every single day since you came back lying to myself, trying to convince myself that what we _had_… That it had to die too because of the risk," he continued. "But, we're _always _facing that risk. And… I asked myself what would be worse. Would it be harder to go back to the way things were and then have it fall apart again, or to sit there and wonder every day if we could have been happy, even just for a little while… And it would be worse never to know. Don't you think? I mean… To just spend the rest of our lives thinking about 'what if' and 'maybe I should have'…"

"I know," I agreed, nodding as tears began to spill down my cheeks. "I mean, even if it's hard or temporary or… At least we'd _know_. There would be something to show for it."

I said nothing as Vaughn got up off the couch, coming over to where I was sitting. There was nothing left to say – we came to the same conclusion. Something we both knew would happen, eventually, because the pain of being apart and wondering about whether it could have worked was _so much worse_ than realizing we had been pulled apart in the first place.

There was nothing in me that protested as Vaughn wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close and kissing me. I felt _everything _in that instant. The immense pain of being apart, of losing each other, the relief of being together, the passion between us, the chemistry that had practically been there since we _met_.

And then, slowly, all of it started to melt into him. I wound my arms around his back and his neck, running my fingers up through his hair. I could feel his heart pounding against my ribcage – the way the two of us just _needed _to be close to each other. In that instant, nothing was simple and, yet, _everything _was. All of the things we had been through mattered to me, and then they just _didn't_. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing aside from the feel of his lips on mine and his hands on my back, the taste of him… All of the things I had longed for since that day I woke up in Hong Kong a year ago.

Finally, he was just _Vaughn_. He wasn't 'Lauren's Michael' or 'my ex-boyfriend Vaughn'. For the first time since that day, he was Vaughn again.

He was _my _Vaughn.

And nothing else mattered.


	6. Chapter Six

Disclaimer: Same as before, Alias does not belong to me. The use of the name 'whitewolf' in this chapter was my idea for a call sign, it has nothing to do with the company thatcreated Vampire: The Masquerade.

A/N: Thanks to **Eyghon**, **SlayGal**, **CuteLittleBrit** and **unsigned** for the reviews - you guys are so loyal!! :-) As for this fic, I do have a lot of it already written, which is why I've been updating once a day, but the fic as a whole is still a work in progress.

OOOOO

For the first night in weeks, I actually got some decent sleep. Not 'completely sore and exhausted sleep' or 'drunken sleep' or any of those other anti-restful sleep varieties I became dependent on.

Of course, the fact that I woke up next to Vaughn had something – or everything – to do with that.

I'd only been up for a couple of minutes before I heard a pager going off. I rolled over, groaning and trying to bury my face in the pillow and ignore the shrill beeping coming from the far side of the room.

"It's mine," I heard Vaughn say, sitting up a little and tucking the edge of the sheet under both arms as I moved. He slid out from under the sheet, going over to where his jeans were still draped over one of my chairs, tossed in that general direction sometime last night. He pulled them on, digging the small black pager out of the pocket and looking at it. "Dixon."

Before I could say anything, my pager started going off as well. _That's strange_, I thought. _What happened to my father insisting I take a couple of days off?_

"I wonder what's up," I thought aloud as I slid across to the far side of the bed and retrieved my pager from the end table. It was the same number as on Vaughn's pager. That meant something important happened, for him to call both of us in at eight in the morning on a Saturday.

"No idea," Vaughn shrugged a little, clipping the pager onto his belt. "It doesn't say 911, so it must not be that important."

"But after telling you to go back to analysis and me to take some time off, and then paging both of us first thing in the morning?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in question. Vaughn smiled a little at my familiar gesture, making me smile as well.

"Yeah, I guess," he agreed, coming back to the bed and sitting down beside me. He leaned over, kissing me gently. When he finally pulled back, I smiled again as he brushed a small strand of hair out of my eyes and tucked it behind my ear. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," I answered honestly. "We should go."

OOOOO

I expected to find it strange that Vaughn should be at my apartment so early on a Saturday morning, after spending so much time obsessing over what happened in the last several weeks, and so I prepared myself for a rather awkward 'morning after'. But, to my surprise, there was nothing really _strange _about it.

Because Dixon's page hadn't included the 911 urgency code, the two of us had enough time to shower and dress, and get something reasonably edible out of my fridge, which was more of a chore than I expected. We walked out to the parking lot, and I didn't even suggest otherwise when Vaughn offered to drive.

We got to the Rotunda just after nine. Because it was Saturday, there weren't many other agents present. We went back to Dixon's office, where he spoke with a couple of guards from the holding cells where we presently held Sark captive. When the two of us entered, Dixon dismissed them and turned his attention to us.

"Sydney. Vaughn," he said with a nod to each of us in greeting. "I'm sorry to page you like this after the last few days here, but there are a couple of things to sort out yet." I took a seat on one of the couches, smiling when Vaughn sat down beside me. Dixon took a seat across from the two of us.

"Did something happen with Sark?" Vaughn asked, curious about why the guards had been speaking with Dixon.

"No. The main reason I wanted to see both of you is because I received a call this morning from the Stafford Naval Hospital. Marshall's awake. He's still being monitored, but it looks like he'll be back on his feet soon," Dixon explained. I sighed in relief.

"Thank god," I stated. "Can we see him?"

"I can arrange for a transport later this afternoon," Dixon replied.

"Thanks," I said.

"In addition to that, I believe we may have a lead," Dixon continued. "Once we discovered that Irina Derevko may, in fact, be the head of the Covenant, I requested that Langley allow this operations facility to try and track her, using whatever leads we might find to determine what, if any, her affiliation with that group is. I think we may have something."

"What?" Vaughn questioned.

"Sark says he knows of a way to contact Derevko. A protocol they used several years ago, before she turned herself in to the CIA. But, he refused to give that information to anyone but Agent Bristow," Dixon explained to both of us. I nodded a little.

"I'll talk to him. We have to figure out if he really knows anything," I stated. Dixon nodded. "If Sark can lead us back to my mother…"

"I spoke to the board members that were here yesterday – the ones that endorsed Project Prodigy. They attempted to get that information from Sark, but he's not talking. So, we'll hope whatever information he gives you is a real lead," Dixon continued.

"Does Sark know if Derevko is the one behind the Covenant?" Vaughn asked.

"I don't think so," Dixon answered. "He's stated repeatedly how Cole was the front man, and never mentioned who he worked under. But, if Sark can give us Derevko, she may be able to answer that for us."

OOOOO

I left Vaughn with Dixon to discuss Project Prodigy and what relevance all of this had to my mother, and to go over transport to the naval hospital so we could visit Marshall and make sure he felt better. The holding cell guards still waited just outside the office, and led me down to the cell where Sark was being held. He smiled a little wryly when he saw me. The guards left, going out of sight but still close by in case something went wrong.

"Agent Bristow," he greeted with a small nod. "I must congratulate you on your most recent performance – you even had _me_ believing you were Miss Reed." I disguised myself as Lauren to get Sark to tell me where the Covenant went looking for the Rambaldi device.

"Consider it payback for nearly getting me arrested for shooting one of my friends," I shot back, not even pausing. Ever since I met Sark – back before I knew my mother was still alive – we got into a habit of verbally sparring every time we met. Sark grinned.

"Fair enough," he conceded. "Tell me – you look remarkably well for someone who's nearly lost so much. I wonder why that could be."

"You told Dixon you had a way to contact Irina Derevko," I stated, ignoring his comment and getting down to the point of my visit. "That you haven't used it recently but it may still work."

"Yes, I have a contact protocol. It should still be operational, provided nothing has befallen her in these last months," Sark agreed, nodding a little. "But I'm curious – why the sudden interest? Hasn't she been helpful enough already through your father?"

"Because we have reason to believe Derevko has been running the Covenant the entire time," I answered. Telling Sark that wouldn't do him any good, so I reasoned that it didn't matter if he knew what we were up to. He wouldn't get out of CIA custody again.

"Yes… I can see why you might think that," Sark replied with a little nod, averting his eyes as he thought that concept over. As much as I hated to admit it, Sark was a good strategist, and giving him all the information might help reveal something I might not catch on my own.

"I'm going to ask you this once. Do you know who the power is behind the Covenant?" I questioned.

"I know there is a higher level of control, but I've no idea where it comes from," Sark answered. "The only man I met during my short time working for them was McKennas Cole."

"One of your associates before he was taken into custody," I replied. Sark nodded.

"Yes. He worked directly under your mother and Mister Khasinau," he said. His eyes were narrowed, and I could tell that he was puzzling over what I told him. "He never told me how he came to work for the Covenant, but I suppose there's a good chance that's because he always was."

"So what's the protocol?"

"It's an electronic contact. You'll have to use a computer with a wireless modem – something that can't be traced back to the CIA or she'll know it's not me. If you want this to work, you'll have to play my role. Something I'm sure, after seeing your talent for… Mimicking… Will not be a problem."

"No, I'm sure it won't."

"Quite," Sark countered with a sarcastic half-smile. "Now, the contact is set up through a port on a free-message server, port 047. I trust the irony of the number is not lost on you?" I didn't reply. The number forty-seven was the one Rambaldi used for all of his most important documents. "You'll sign on using the call sign 'white wolf'. There's no code phrase to let her know to make contact – simply type 'black raven'. That will let her know you – or, rather, _I_ – wish to speak. If she still monitors that frequency, you should be online within five minutes."

"You know if we make contact that her entire mission will be compromised. You've been working with her, or for her or _something_ for the last six years and you just hand this information to me. Why?"

"You should know by now, Agent Bristow, my loyalties are solely my own. Presently, I have more to gain by helping you than by protecting whatever assets I may have. So, I've no reservations about sharing what I know with you." I thought this over for a moment, finally nodding. Sark always was one to defect when it suited him, which was probably why no one killed the annoying son of a bitch in the past.

"Fine," I finally answered. "But if this burns us… Our next discussion isn't going to be so pleasant."

OOOOO

Dixon traveled with Sydney and I to the naval hospital to visit Marshall. She wanted to take a few minutes and talk to Dixon about the information Sark gave her, about finding a way to contact Irina Derevko. I left the two of them in the hall outside Marshall's room, stepping inside to see how he felt after Lauren shot him during her attack on the Rotunda several nights ago.

"Agent Vaughn!" Marshall exclaimed, smiling happily when I stepped into the room. "Hey. I'm glad you're all right. I mean, I knew you would be, duh. They said I was the most critically injured person there, or that's what Carrie said when she was here yesterday. It was so cute, she had Mitchell with her and he just sat on the edge of the bed and slept there. I might actually have uh, a picture…"

"How are you doing?" I asked, taking the very small second he offered me to at least say something.

"Good. Sore, you know. I, uh, I've never been _shot _before, so… It was kind of, you know, like… Wow, I've been _shot_, and then I just passed out," Marshall continued, smiling nervously. "They explained what happened, of course. I mean, I was so confused. I thought Sydney was… Or, I thought Lauren was Sydney." He paused. "What happened with the Rambaldi code?"

"The system files were corrupted, but we found out where the Covenant went. But, there was nothing there. The agency thinks someone else might have gotten to it first."

"Huh. Well, that makes sense. I mean, who buries the most important piece of a puzzle five hundred years ago in the middle of the desert?" Marshall asked with a grin. I nodded a little, but I knew there was something more to it.

We talked about his family for a while and he showed me some of the pictures from the night before, of his wife and their son. He wondered if anyone called his mother to tell her that he was all right, and then we talked a bit about the incidents in Palermo and Wittenberg. Dixon briefed me and then gave me clearance to tell Marshall whatever he wanted to know. So, I told him that the Rotunda had been tasked with locating Irina Derevko and finding out whether or not she was actually behind the Covenant.

After a little while, Sydney and Dixon came into the room. The four of us tried to keep the mood light, joking about past experiences and how everyone would have to be nice to Marshall now that he'd been 'injured in the line of duty'. The terminology was Sydney's, and Marshall grinned when he heard it and wouldn't stop using it.

We didn't stay long – Marshall expected Carrie to return in a few hours, and wanted to get some sleep before she returned. And, he insisted that we get to work, and we should focus on locating Derevko to see if we could get some of this figured out.

OOOOO

I went over the mission specs with Dixon. When we returned to the city, he gave us a laptop with a remote wireless modem, and an IP address that she could trace to LA but not link to the CIA. I knew my mother would want to know where Sark was, and – with some creativity and a lot of luck – she'd believe he contacted her.

Despite my father and Director Newman's suggestions that I take some time off and Vaughn be placed on analysis, Dixon believed that the two of us were some of his best operatives, especially when we worked together. So, he gave me the laptop and Vaughn and I drove to a small sidewalk café in the center of the city. I wanted to be somewhere busy, so there was less chance of Derevko tracking our signal to a definite location.

Vaughn handed me the laptop, and I navigated my way to the 'free message' site that Sark referred to. I used a series of passwords that he gave Dixon to connect to the right port, and signed in using the call sign he gave me – whitewolf. I stared at the black screen for a moment, and then watched as letters started to scroll across the screen.

FREE MESSAGE CONNECTION PORT: 047  
NEW MEMBER PRESENT: whitewolf

A cursor appeared at the bottom of the screen in a small text box. I glanced at Vaughn, who just shrugged slightly. I typed 'black raven' as Sark instructed, and hit the 'enter' key. My words appeared as they would in any standard Internet chat room, colored green and preceded by my screen name.

We waited almost five minutes, not saying anything, nervous that the protocol wouldn't work. Finally, another line of the text appeared, bright red and under the name BlackRaven.

"It's her," Vaughn stated. I nodded a little, taking a deep breath to slow my racing pulse and read what she'd written.

**BlackRaven:** I thought you forgot this protocol entirely.

"Remember, she thinks she's talking to Sark," Vaughn reminded me. I nodded again, trying to put myself into a mindset to sound like I _was_ Sark.

**Whitewolf:** Of course not. It's the most reliable one I know.  
**BlackRaven:** Indeed. Did you complete your mission?

"What mission?" I asked, looking over at Vaughn.

"I don't know. She could be talking about anything," he answered. "If she _is _Covenant, then she knows we have Sark. This contact might make her think he's escaped from custody, or we released him for some reason."

"Right," I said, starting to type again.

**Whitewolf:** The CIA got in the way, but I'm taking care of everything.  
**BlackRaven:** And your associate?

"She means Lauren," I said, more to myself than anything. "Sark doesn't know what happened in Palermo."

**Whitewolf:** Gone to Palermo.  
**BlackRaven:** I've been informed that's the wrong location.  
**Whitewolf:** Informed by whom?  
**BlackRaven:** By your Shadow.

"'Your Shadow'?" Vaughn asked. "What do you think that means?"

"It could be another call sign, a code phrase… I have no idea. It sounds like a call sign, but I don't know who she's talking about," I answered.

**Whitewolf:** What would you like me to do?  
**BlackRaven:** Meet us at Point Four. We'll excavate from there. Bring her with you.  
BLACKRAVEN HAS DISCONNECTED

"She asked Sark to meet her somewhere," I stated. "And I think she wants him to bring Lauren."

"Yeah, but where's Point Four?" Vaughn questioned. I shook my head.

"I don't know." I closed the computer, sighing. "I think I need to go talk to Sark."


	7. Chapter Seven

A/N: Sorry this one took a little longer - finals are evil! ;; Thanks to **vademecum**, **Eyghon**, **Vaughn-Syd-4ever**, **daisyduke947**, **BellaAmore** and **Unsigned**for reviews!! Glad everyone likes this so much. One question for you - do you think my chapters are too long? Because I can probably shorten them if that would make reading it easier on everyone. Let me know. :-)

OOOOO

When I returned to the holding cells, Sark sat on the small cot he had for a bed, reading an old, worn book written in Russian. The fact that his father had been an ungodly rich Russian diplomat confused me at first, but then I came to understand how that helped him gain connections to my mother. I stopped at the bars of his cell, and he set the book down, standing and walking over to speak with me.

"You were right," I informed him. "The protocol worked. We contacted Derevko."

"I suppose if things went well you wouldn't be here," Sark stated, folding his arms across his chest.

"She asked if you completed your 'mission'. You were working with her?" I questioned.

"She contacted me a few weeks ago, when we began searching for your sister. She wanted to know when we located the Passenger. I don't know if her interest was because of connections with the Covenant or simply a mother's concern for her daughter's safety," Sark answered. "What did you tell her?"

"That the CIA got in your way, but you would take care of it," I answered. He nodded, approving. "She also mentioned someone else she called 'Your Shadow'."

"Sloane," Sark answered. "It was a term we used to describe his tendency to know what we were doing even before we did. But, why did she bring him into your conversation?"

"They must still be working together, or at least communicating," I replied. "She said Sloane told her that Palermo was the wrong location."

"The wrong location?" Sark echoed, now confused. "You had a copy of the entire Rambaldi equation. It must have led to the exact place his latest artifact is buried."

"I don't know," I confessed. "And she wouldn't say anything more – just that she wanted you and Lauren to meet her at 'Point Four'. Where is that?"

"I don't know." I narrowed my eyes, not believing him. "There's a list of locations, specific places for meets and dead drops between your mother and her associates. She gave me a copy when I began working for her."

"Where can I find that list?"

"I know where it is, but you won't be able to access it."

"Why not?"

"Because it's secured with biometric sensors, countermeasures… When I began working for the Covenant, I thought it best to secure it in a location that only I could access. To protect my old interests, you understand, should the need arise to contact them."

"So you're saying you're the only one who can access that list," I finished.

"And your senior officers are not going to let me leave this cell," he added, smiling a little. "I certainly hope you haven't got a limited time frame."

"I'll talk to Dixon," I said after a long moment. Sark rose his eyebrows in question, but didn't say anything. "Where's the list?"

"A flat in Paris. You should have the keys to the flat – they were among my belongings when I was taken into custody," Sark answered. "The list is inside a safe hidden in the drywall. But, as I said, I'm the only one that can open it."

"All right. I'll see what we can do."

OOOOO

"Are you _crazy_?" I questioned, looking at Sydney as though she lost her mind completely. After talking to Sark, she suggested that we talk to Dixon about letting Sark accompany us to Paris in order to retrieve some document he claimed we couldn't get to without him. "You're suggesting we just let Sark go?"

"No, of course not," she replied. We stood off to the side of the main area of the Rotunda – a small room that Weiss lovingly nicknamed 'the flirting corner' several years ago – trying to figure out what to do next. "We'll be right there with him, and if he tries to escape, we'll have CIA support. He won't make a run for it."

"And if it's a trap?" I questioned. She sighed, slightly annoyed with my questioning.

"Don't you think it's worth the risk?" she asked. "Even if Sark _does _get away, he might still be able to lead us to my mother. Which, personally, would be a bigger victory than holding Sark in custody forever."

"We can't just let him lead the two of us around like dogs on a leash – that's handing him all the cards!"

"Are you _really _going to shut down the only lead we have to my mother just to spite Sark because of Lauren?" Sydney shot back. I glared at her for a moment. How could she think I was just doing this because I wanted to keep Sark locked up to make myself feel better? I shook my head, turning to go.

I only took a couple of steps when I stopped, really trying to consider what she said. After a moment, I realized she was right. I sighed, running a hand tiredly over my face and through my hair, turning around and looking at Sydney.

"You're right," I finally said. She looked a little taken aback that I would admit to that.

"What?" she finally asked.

"It's just… With Lauren dead and Sark in CIA custody, there's a kind of… Closure. They worked together, and with both of them disabled, it feels like it's finally over. And, if Sark gets away… I almost wonder if that closure is gonna disappear."

"Vaughn," she said softly, stepping closer and resting her hand on my arm. Her touch felt hot on my skin, re-igniting the passion from last night, and I felt the overwhelming urge to pull her into my arms and kiss her. Instead – since we were still standing in the Rotunda and supposed to meet Dixon in his office in ten minutes – I gently pulled away, smiling a little to reassure her that I wasn't angry.

"But you're right," I stated again. "If Sark gets away, but we find your mother… We'd get a lot more answers from her than we'll get out of him."

"Yeah," Sydney agreed with a shaky sigh, apparently victim to the same feelings that threatened to overtake me just a moment ago. "Let's go talk to Dixon."

OOOOO

First thing the next morning, Vaughn, Sark and I were on the CIA charter jet, heading for Paris. Four members of a CIA support team, led by Agent Weiss, came along with us to ensure that Sark wouldn't escape custody.

The flight was long, and rather quiet, and Vaughn and I kept glancing at each other and smiling before one of us looked away. I saw Weiss watching us at one point, rolling his eyes in mock annoyance, though he had a smile on his face. Sark seemed oblivious to everything, handcuffed to the arms of the chair he sat in, reading his novel.

When we reached Paris, the support team escorted Sark through the airport. When Vaughn and I spoke to Dixon, I acknowledged the fact that keeping him handcuffed was a risk, but I knew if we made it look like Sark wasn't guarded, there was a good chance he'd escape. Of course, if anyone working for my mother saw him in CIA custody, we'd never find her.

Which was why Sark wore a black mask over his head.

A van waited outside for us outside Charles de Gaulle Airport, the windows in the back completely blacked out. They loaded Sark into the back, Weiss and the rest of the team staying toward the front of the van while Vaughn and I kept an eye on Sark.

"So," I started, once he was secured and had the hood off, "what security measures are we looking at? You said you had biometric sensors only you could get past. Now, I've faked all kinds of those scans before, so what's so different about your system?"

"As I said, there are countermeasures in place," Sark began. "The sensors are all very specific. DNA read through blood, retinal scans, fingerprints… Of course, with me in custody, you would be able to fool all of those things very easily. However, knowing how someone might do just that to access my contact list, I programmed the safe not to open if any DNA or prints of any other person were detected.

"Not only that, but there is also a fair amount of C-4 wired to the vault. If the sensors pick up anything on the biometrics that isn't me, the C-4 will detonate and level the entire block," he continued. "You'll come into the room with me, but I assure you, you would not want to get too close to that safe until I deactivate the security measures."

"All right," I stated, already forming a plan. "The support team will wait outside. We'll follow you into the room where we can find the safe. Once you have it deactivated, all the security measures, the whole deal, I want that list. You'll show me where Point Four is, and we'll go from there. All right?"

"You have a deal," Sark answered with a small smile. "I've only got one question."

"What?"

"This meeting you accidentally managed to schedule between your mother and I – how are you planning to lure her there without my presence?" Sark asked. I glanced over at Vaughn. We hadn't really talked to Dixon about that part of it.

"Once we have the location, we'll figure it out from there," I finally replied. Sark tried to hide the smirk that crossed his features, looking away for a moment.

We reached the flat that Sark apparently rented under an alias several years ago, to make sure that he always had somewhere to disappear to if he needed to. I figured he had more than one – he got away from the CIA enough times to prove that he had his fair share of connections.

The support team stayed just outside the flat, leaving Vaughn and I to lead Sark into the living room. We removed his handcuffs – something I didn't look forward to doing – so he could feel along the wall for the slide-out panel that would expose the safe where he kept the documents we needed.

I had to look away when Sark took out a small needle that sat beside the safe, poking a hole in the tip of his thumb and dropping some blood onto a small panel that extended from the center of the safe. The whole thing was very advanced, and I found myself wondering where he got the safe. I never saw anything like it before.

I could also see the C-4 he mentioned. When he said all of that in the van, I assumed he was bluffing. But, I could see it quite clearly from where I stood, off to the side by the door that led into the room. Vaughn stood next to me, also watching intently as Sark accessed the safe, letting a red light scan his eyes as he placed his hands on two fingerprint panels on either side of the door. Finally, I heard a series of beeping sounds, and he pulled the safe open.

"All right, I've deactivated the security measures," he said, looking back at Vaughn and I. We both stepped forward, and I took a thick portfolio folder out of the safe. There were several pages inside – contact information, protocols, instructions on dead drops – and a list of locations.

"Where's the meet supposed to be?" Vaughn asked, looking at the documents over my shoulder.

"Point Four is a location in Zurich," I stated. I looked up at Sark, who didn't react. "All right, now we know where we're going."

"Yes, but as I said to you in the van, I don't believe Derevko will come to the meeting if she doesn't see me there first," Sark said again, shrugging a little. Vaughn stepped forward and put the handcuffs back on, and we led him back outside.

"You know, he's got a point," Vaughn said to me quietly while Weiss and the others loaded Sark back into the back of the van. I nodded a little, tucking the folder under my arm.

"Yeah," I agreed. "But letting Sark go to that meeting? I don't even want to _think _about how many things might go wrong."

"Still, there's a good chance that, if Derevko does show up, we can bring her in. And, I still think you're right, that getting her would be a bigger victory than keeping Sark," Vaughn replied.

"Yeah." _I guess we'll talk to Dixon again…_

OOOOO

Dixon gave Vaughn and me clearance to follow Sark to Zurich. The CIA support team was too risky, so it would just be the two of us. Because it was doubtful that Derevko would show up if she didn't see Sark first, we needed to make sure that he was there. Of course, and as Vaughn had warned me, there was a good risk that Sark would take the opportunity to get away. So, we had to make sure we had a weapon trained on him in case he tried to bolt. Which was Dixon's suggestion – he didn't want to risk Sark escaping, even though he agreed that getting Derevko was a better trade, even if we lost Sark in the process.

So, only a few hours after we got back from Paris, the three of us were on a plane for Zurich. My mother hadn't specified a meeting time, which meant she probably kept tabs on the location, and would appear shortly after she saw that Sark arrived. Vaughn and I would watch from a tactical van only a little ways away from the meeting place – the outside patio of a small corner restaurant.

We reached Zurich just after eleven the next morning. Sark went to the small café, taking a seat facing us on the small patio. He had his sunglasses on, and sat quietly, looking at the menu. He wore a small earpiece, so that Vaughn and I could listen in on the conversation between him and Derevko, if she did indeed show up.

Sark ordered something to drink, and sat there watching people wander around the streets for a good half an hour. I began to think that my mother wasn't going to show up. That maybe she realized Sark never escaped CIA custody, and that this meeting we had surveillance on this meeting.

"She's not gonna show," Vaughn said after forty-five minutes passed. He sighed, shaking his head a little. We had a camera on the dashboard of the van wired to a laptop in the back, and were both watching the video of Sark from there.

"Your confidence always fails to inspire me, Mister Vaughn," Sark replied, his lips barely moving on the video. He spoke quietly, so that none of the other patrons heard him.

That was when I saw her.

"Vaughn. Look," I stated, pointing to the street on the laptop monitor. A black sedan pulled up at the curb, stopping not far from the patio of the restaurant. I saw Sark look up at the car, obviously realizing that Derevko had arrived. "She's here."

Neither of us said anything as the two back doors of the sedan opened, and my mother stepped out on the street side. She was wearing dark sunglasses as well, her brown hair longer than I remembered and wavy over her shoulders. I had to remind myself that three years passed since I saw her last, and I didn't know how much changed in that time.

I watched the screen as two more people stepped out of the vehicle. The first was my sister, Nadia.

The second was Sloane.

I took a deep breath, looking over at Vaughn. He seemed just as shocked as I was by the fact that all three of them were there. After a moment, I turned back to the computer screen, watching as the three of them passed through the gate and walked over to Sark's table.

"It's good to see you again, Julian," Sloane said with a grin. He pulled out a chair for his daughter, as my mother sat down next to Sark, the profile of her face caught in the camera.

"A pleasure, as always, Mister Sloane," Sark replied. "Might I ask what the occasion is? I wasn't expecting all three of you to come to this meeting."

"What's the matter? I thought you would enjoy seeing old friends," my mother said, smiling a little as she looked at Sark.

"Something's going on," I said, almost to myself. The way they were all talking… It wasn't casual conversation.

"Indeed," Sark replied. "I must say, I feared my flight would be delayed because of the weather."

"It's good you made it, then," my mother replied.

I went to tell Vaughn to grab a weapon, that that was some sort of a code phrase to let Sloane and my mother know that we followed Sark, when I heard gunshots and the sound of screeching metal. I glanced up at the back door of the van, seeing that someone had ripped the doors open. I saw figures clad in black, at least six of them, all with automatic weapons.

I could hear Vaughn calling to me, heading for the front of the van. I moved to follow, and felt hands on my arm. I fought them off, struggling to get a good look at anything while the figures flooded the van.

Something was placed over my mouth and nose, and I caught the stench of chloroform. I fought not to breathe, trying to push arms away from my face. But, of course, trying to fight and not breathe at the same time was impossible, and I heard a last gunshot go off before everything swayed and went dark, slipping into unconsciousness.

OOOOO

The next thing I saw was a bright light shining directly in my eyes. I tried to jerk out of the way, finding myself tied to the chair I sat in. I coughed dryly, wanting the smell of the chemicals out of my nose. The sound echoed, so I knew I was in a large room almost immediately. I tried to move my legs, finding them secured to the chair as well. After a few moments of letting my eyes adjust, I opened them slowly to get a look around.

I was alone in a large room. All of the walls were whitewashed, and concrete. The floor was tile. A large table sat in front of me, made of some kind of industrial plastic. Several large, bright halogen lights hung from the ceiling, and I saw a door directly in front of me.

I forced myself to think back on what happened – on how I might have gotten here. I was in the van in Zurich, with Vaughn. Sark used some kind of code phrase to let my mother and Sloane know we followed him, and they raided the van. How they knew… I imagined it had something to do with my trying to portray Sark when I contacted my mother. She must have slipped something in there that I didn't catch – some small reference. That, or the protocol was flawed, and she'd known it wasn't Sark from minute one.

Their team raided the van and took me hostage. I had no idea if Vaughn was all right, if he'd escaped… I remembered hearing gunshots. I squeezed my eyes closed, trying to focus on getting out of the room before I started worrying that something happened to him. It wasn't going to do me any good if I couldn't even get out of the chair.

Suddenly, there was a sound from what I imagined was the hallway, and the door opened. As it did, I could see that it was made of a kind of reinforced steel, and at least four inches thick. There was a heavy bolt on the outside. There wouldn't be any getting out that way. But, there were no cameras in the room either, and so if I could get out of the chair, I might be able to find some other way to escape.

My mother stepped into the room. I clenched my jaw, a hundred different emotions flooding me at seeing her again. Pain, anger, confusion, and yet, relief to know she was still alive. Like I could still forge some kind of normal relationship with her, despite everything she put me through.

"Sydney," she said, staying close to the door, even though she had a good four feet before she even reached the table, and then it was anchored to the ground between us. "It's been… A long time."


	8. Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer: **Alias is not mine, same for the characters, so please don't sue.

**A/N:** Thanks to **vademecum**, **Eyghon** and **unsigned** for reviews! I got two votes for long chapters and none for short, so we'll stick with these! :-) Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Reconciled  
**EPISODE 4.03

"Where am I?" I questioned, looking at my mother in disbelief.

"You're safe, for now," she replied. "That's all you need to know."

"Safe," I echoed, shaking my head. "I'm tied to a chair, I have no idea where I am, how do you call that _safe_?"

"You would have been killed. By comparison, I thought you might prefer being tied to the chair," she shot back, apparently not in the mood for my sarcasm.

"Where's Vaughn?" I asked. I saw the hint of a smile play on your features.

"He's not here, if that's what you mean," she replied. "You were sitting closer to the back of the van, and he escaped. I imagine he's gone back to Los Angeles to work out a contingency plan." I didn't react, even though I was relieved to hear that he was all right. That was, if she told me the truth. Which I couldn't be sure of. "I knew it was you when you contacted me."

"The protocol wasn't valid," I stated, shaking my head a little.

"Oh no, it was. But you should have paid closer attention to what I asked. Sark wasn't on any mission – at least, not one I would know about. When you told him that, he knew that he had the opportunity to escape custody once more, and took full advantage of that fact," she explained. "You should have been more direct – questioned what mission I was referring to."

"Yeah, hindsight's great, but it's not going to do much for either one of us, is it?" I snapped. At this, my mother smiled and stepped further into the room.

"What I want to know is why you asked Sark for a way to contact me," she stated, looking curious. I took a deep breath, debating whether or not I wanted to tell her any of this. But, I realized, I wouldn't get any of the answers I so desperately wanted if I didn't tell her the truth.

"The CIA task force I work with has been re-assigned to finding you and bringing you into custody," I began. "The only lead we had was through Sark, so I had no choice but to use him."

"Why? I may be on the most wanted list, but I've been the least of their worries for some time," she replied.

"I doubt that," I stated, keeping my face as straight as I could, despite my anger and the cramp I was getting in my shoulders from the awkward position she secured me in.

"Really?"

"You wanna know the truth?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "I think you've been the one running this whole thing. You aren't the least of the CIA's trouble – you just wanted them to _think_ you are."

"Are you accusing me of something, Sydney?" I paused, swallowing thickly over the lump that was forming in my throat.

"You're running the Covenant, aren't you? That's what you were doing the whole time, before you even turned yourself in to the CIA. It was all part of your plan – turning yourself in to get to our collection of Rambaldi artifacts, working with Sloane, getting him to turn himself in and get pardoned by the US government and destroy all the terrorist cells that would pose a threat to your endgame." She didn't reply. "Am I right?"

"Yes," she said, not hesitating and looking right at me. I felt tears in my eyes, despite how much I wanted to keep still and not give her the satisfaction of hurting me.

"It was you," I stated. "The whole time?"

"Sydney, I know this is difficult for you to understand," she stated, shaking her head a little.

"Of course it's _difficult_!" I shot back. "You nearly killed both of my best friends, I was living with a stranger for _months_ – you kidnapped me, you tried to have me _brainwashed_!"

"Did you ever think there might be a reason for all of that?" she snapped, angry now that I wasn't listening to her as she tried to explain. "That perhaps I was doing all of that in order to protect you?"

"You ruined my life to _protect _me?" I shouted. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Sydney, if I hadn't removed you from the CIA, from every _aspect _of your life, Sloane would have killed you himself!" she shouted back. That stopped me, and I sat back, blinking in surprise.

"What?"

"You've heard the prophecy. That the Passenger – your sister – and you were to meet, and that you would fight until you destroyed each other."

"So what?" I asked. My mother looked at me for a long moment, then stepped right up to the table. She took a seat in the other chair there, looking at me in all seriousness. "You're telling me you _kidnapped _me –your operatives _tortured _me – to keep me _safe_?"

"As safe as I could under the circumstances," she replied. "Now will you let me explain?" I thought for a long moment. I wanted to yell at her, to start screaming about what she did to me and how unfair it was, but I knew that wouldn't get me any answers. So, finally, I nodded. "Thank you.

"A little over three years ago, Sloane went to a monastery in the Tibetan mountain range. Somewhere they studied and worshipped Rambaldi and his artifacts for centuries. There, he met a monk named Conrad. You remember him, don't you? I had Sark abduct him so I might learn where Nadia, your sister, was located," she began. "He died before I could interrogate him."

I remembered the monk. He told me that the Passenger was my sister – a sister I didn't know I had until he uttered those words, and then died in the desert. Vaughn and I chased Sark there, trying to get to Nadia before they did.

"When Sloane went to see him three years ago, Conrad told him he had a daughter. He also informed him of another of Rambaldi's prophecies – that the Chosen One and the Passenger could never be allowed to meet, or they would do battle that neither would survive," my mother continued.

"But Nadia and I _have _met," I protested.

"Surely you know that everything Rambaldi says isn't that easy to understand," she chided me with a small smile. "The point is, Sloane wanted to keep you from ever finding your sister – so, he started to arrange your murder.

"He knew that Nadia carried a message – an equation from Rambaldi himself, left in her subconscious when she was born. If you got to her first, he feared that you would kill her and he would never reach the end of his search for Rambaldi. So, he thought it best to destroy you before that ever happened."

"Why didn't you just tell me this? You had so many chances-"

"Would you believe me?" she interrupted. I remained silent. We both knew the answer. If she came to me and told me that Sloane wanted to kill me because he wanted to protect a daughter he never knew he had, I never have listened to her. "That was why I never told you."

"Still… Having your operatives abduct me…"

"I never wanted to take it to that extreme, but I had to make sure that Sloane could not find you. I knew you would never trust me – not after I betrayed the CIA and escaped custody. The _only _way I could make you disappear was to have my people take you in; to program you into thinking you were another woman. It was the only way I could pacify Sloane, to convince him that killing you wasn't necessary, do you understand?"

"You tried to brainwash me," I stated again, still indignant that my own _mother _thought it was safer to convince me I was someone else than to leave me to my own devices.

"Yes," she agreed, nodding a little. "One of the best doctors I knew worked with you for months, conditioning you to believe you were a woman named Julia Thorne – that you were a contract killer. I must say, you did a wonderful acting job," she said with a small smile. "Everyone was convinced that you believed you were Julia."

"And Will? Francie? What did they have to do with all of this?"

"Your friends were casualties of a greater aim. I'm sorry, truly, but there was nothing I could do to save them. We needed someone on the inside – someone close to you – in order to secure my extraction from the CIA, and to get someone inside the CIA. Unfortunately, that had to be done through Francie and then Will, causing you to lose both of them.

"I sent my men to capture you. I didn't know that there was a fight – that you discovered Allison. But, it gave us the perfect chance to settle everything. Rather than just disappearing, you were dead to the world. With everyone believing that, I didn't foresee a problem coercing you to work with us."

"To get the Rambaldi cube," I finished for her. "You needed me to find it, and you needed something else from me." I looked down at my stomach, where there was a scar from the Covenant removing several of my eggs to try and bring Rambaldi's child to life.

"I needed a distraction," she replied. I looked up at her, confused. She sighed. "The people working for me believed what I wanted them to – if I told them that I understood Rambaldi's prophecy, they trusted that without fail. I still don't know what it means, though I know it has something specific to do with you."

"So… All of that, with the cube…?"

"The cube was a plant," she replied. "I needed something for you to focus on – something to keep everyone distracted while I worked on deciphering the true meaning of all of the documents I had," she continued.

"So Sloane wanted to kill me so I couldn't stop him from reaching Rambaldi's endgame," I stated. "You were running the Covenant the whole time, so you had them abduct me, make it look like I died… Created an identity for me as Julia Thorne to protect me from Sloane. Then you created a purpose – missions for me to go on, things for me to do so that I would be out of the way in case the brainwashing failed."

"Exactly," she replied with a smile. "I knew you hadn't been affected when you disappeared after you found the cube. I didn't hear anything until Sark was released from CIA custody. With the inheritance from his father – a man you were sent to kill – we financed our operations. He told us that came back to the CIA. That you had no memory of the past two years."

"My memories were erased," I stated. "I didn't want to remember what you put me through."

"I don't blame you," she replied. I clenched my jaw; narrowing my eyes at her admittance to the horrors she put me through. "I imagine there's something else you want to ask me about?"

"There is," I nodded in agreement. "Why did you send Lauren Reed to marry Vaughn and be a double agent inside the NSC?"

"You may not believe me, but I never intended for Agent Reed to marry Michael Vaughn," she answered.

"You're right," I said before she could continue. "I don't believe you."

"I needed someone to get inside the CIA. Someone who would act as backup if you ever found your way back to your old life. And, I needed someone to keep the CIA from getting in my way as I pursued Nadia and the rest of the Rambaldi artifacts," she started. "Lauren Reed seemed to have the potential. Young, eager… Willing to do what I asked of her."

"She knew?" I asked, my eyes widening. "She knew it was you heading up the Covenant?"

"Yes," my mother answered. "She did. We only met once, and I assigned McKennas Cole as her handler. I gave him a list of names – agents inside the CIA that she could seduce. Vaughn's name was not on that list. When I spoke with Cole, he told me he had a subject in mind, and left it at that. I didn't question him. I should have. By the time I knew what happened, it was already too late. Her mission was already in progress."

"Her 'mission'," I repeated through clenched teeth. I glared at her, fury burning behind my eyes. "You nearly _destroyed _him, and you talk about it like it's that simple."

"Sydney, if it was my intention to hurt you, believe me – you would know it," she snapped, defending herself. "If I wanted you to suffer, you never would have left that holding cell. The torture you went through, the conditioning… It would have gone on for the rest of your life, until you died or your mind cracked. I could see you, lying in the corner of that dark room, babbling to yourself. Completely inept."

"Stop it," I hissed. "I don't need to hear this from you." She glared at me a moment longer, and then sat back in her chair. She narrowed her eyes, sighing and getting to her feet.

"If you don't want answers, fine. But don't expect to get by forever in here on my good graces," she snarled. Before I could protest, she was on her feet and exited the room.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Disclaimer: **same as before - it's not mine

**A/N:** Thanks to **Eyghon**, **daisyduke947**, **Gils**, and **SlayGal**! Here's chapter nine - please continue to review, and there are even more surprises in store. :-) Enjoy!!

OOOOO

After the raid on the van, I was left in Zurich with no support team, no gear, no weapons, and no idea where the men that attacked us took Sydney. After trying to follow Sloane and the others when they left the café – already in a hurry after the raid on our van – I got to a safe house in the middle of the city and called Dixon. He and Jack wasted no time coming to Zurich. The two of them met me at the safe house, where I explained what happened. Irina obviously realized what was going on, and when Sark delivered his code phrase – the lie about the weather – she knew to send the team to raid the van. I explained to Dixon that, not only had we lost track of Sark and the others, but that Sydney had been captured as well and I hadn't seen her since.

"All right," Dixon said with a small nod as soon as I finished explaining. "We'll need to get back to Los Angeles – try and form some sort of a plan to track Derevko and the others, find out where they went once they left the café."

"Screw getting back to LA – by the time we figure it out, they'll be long gone," I stated. Dixon and Jack sat, rather calmly, on a large couch in the main living room of the safe house, while I paced the floor nervously in front of them.

"Vaughn, I understand that you're concerned about Sydney," Dixon said. "But Langley only sanctioned this recon mission after I spent three hours convincing them that nothing would go wrong. I can't put you back in the field so soon after you were injured."

"You know if we leave, they could disappear," I stated, staring right at Dixon. He nodded a little, his eyes locked on the floor. "If we want to have _any _chance of finding Sydney, we have to do it now."

"Yes, but we have no equipment, no backup, and our op tech specialist – probably the only person that can track Derevko – is still in the hospital," Jack threw in. "Launching some kind of search would be almost impossible, and the fact that we are under prepared is just asking for someone to kill us."

"I'll do it on my own if I have to – I don't give a damn _what _Langley tells me I can or can't do," I stated, shaking my head a little and turning my attention back to Dixon. Jack made a valid point, but if I just went back to LA… "There's no way I'm letting this happen again."

"Vaughn, if you go off on another rogue operation less than a week after your clearance was restored, there's a good chance you'll be suspended from duty for at least a few months," Dixon stated, surprised that I would even suggest running off on my own.

"Look… Sydney means more to me than this job _ever _will, and if you have to suspend me indefinitely, I _don't _care. I'm going to find her, and it'll be a lot easier on _all _of us if you just give me what I need and worry about permission later," I stated. I saw Jack raise his eyebrows, either annoyed or impressed, but he was so hard to read that I couldn't tell which.

Dixon just stared at me for a moment, finally looking over at Jack. When the older agent didn't offer any words of protest, he sighed and nodded again.

"All right," he finally said. "I'll call the naval hospital, maybe someone there can arrange a hookup to our systems at the Rotunda for Marshall. He should be able to figure out where Derevko and the others went after they left the café. Hopefully, they're still close by."

"I have some contacts here in Zurich – I'll see about getting weapons, maybe a few other support officers. Freelancers, of course, but payment shouldn't be a problem," Jack stated.

"Okay," Dixon agreed. "Let's get everything set up."

OOOOO

By morning, we had a computer linked directly back to Marshall at the naval hospital, and Jack managed basic tactical gear and weapons, along with three other freelance operatives that he apparently knew from old connections with SD-6. The whole team assembled in an empty warehouse in the industrial section of town, since the freelance operatives couldn't see to the safe house without jeopardizing it.

"All right," Jack began, handing out small photo sheets with pictures of Derevko, Sloane, and Sark on them. "These are the three suspects we're searching for. We believe that they are in possession of a CIA operative by the name of Sydney Bristow, my daughter.

"The objective of this mission is simple," he continued. "We'll collaborate with op tech specialist Marshall Flinkman via satellite and computer networking, using his abilities to track the movements of the targets in question. When we find where they have taken Sydney, the primary objective is to make sure that she is safe. Once the primary objective has been obtained, apprehending any or all of these targets will become your first priority."

"Will we have access to any of the plans for wherever Agent Bristow is being held?" one of the freelancers, a man named Neil Brandt, questioned. All three of the freelance agents were from Zurich, and Brandt was the only one that spoke English.

"Possibly, but until we know for sure, we have to assume that we're going in blind," Jack replied. He turned to the laptop sitting on the desk to the side of the room, where there was a videoconference link established with Marshall. "Marshall – what have you got so far?"

"Well, I did figure out where the team that raided the recon van came from," Marshall replied. He hit a couple of keys on his computer, and a map popped up, the window showing Marshall shrinking until it occupied the small upper left corner of the screen. "Now, from the footage I downloaded off the security camera network in that part of Zurich, it looks like Derevko's support van traveled with her, just on a different street." As he spoke, a red and a green line began moving across the map, showing which streets each vehicle took to arrive at the meet.

"So," Marshall continued, "the red line is Derevko, and the green is the support van – the one that the other team came from. When her sedan pulled up to the café, the support van circled the block and came to a stop about half a block away from our recon team." Marshall marked our van with a large black X on his map, and the green line stopped several car lengths away. "When Sark delivered the code phrase, Derevko must have found some way to signal the support team to raid the van. Which means that she probably knew it was there already, or knew it was close and her team just knew which vehicle they were looking for."

"Where did they go from there?" Jack questioned, evidently not impressed with the map Marshall created to show where the vehicles came from.

"Oh, uh… Right," Marshall said, smiling nervously. "After the support team raided the van, the sedan took off in one direction and the support van went the other. However, after traveling through Zurich – probably making sure no one followed them – they both ended up… Here." The map closed, and another photo of a large hospital building appeared.

"This is one of the hospitals owned by the Omnifam corporation, located just outside of Zurich," Marshall explained. "I pulled up all the security camera footage, and I've got both vehicles – the sedan and the support team – going into the building five minutes apart. A few minutes later, the van pulled out again. I figure there's a good chance that they left Sydney there. Of course, I can't say where exactly, but I'm betting somewhere on one of the sublevels. I'll work on downloading blueprints, but I don't know how long it might take."

"Thank you," Jack finally said. He returned his attention to the rest of the room. "Okay. We're moving out. Suit up, pick up your gear, we'll go over com devices and standard procedure on the way. Let's move."

OOOOO

Shortly after my mother left the room, and I took some time to calm down after everything she said about running the Covenant and being the one behind everything that happened to the people in my life, I started figuring out how to get out of the chair. The last time I got cuffed to a chair and left in my mother's possession, I had the use of my legs. Which, needless to say, made escaping _much _easier.

I rocked the chair back a couple of times, hitting the table with my knees and making several loud clanging sounds. The noise echoed through the room, but no one came to see what caused them. Which made me think that the thick steel door was either soundproof, or no one was close enough to hear it.

So, now that I knew I could move around and bash the chair without attracting attention, I used one elbow to push back away from the table, trying to use my right leg to grab one leg of the table. As long as my joints were stronger than the welds that held the chair together, I'd be able to snap the legs off and free my legs, and work on my arms from there.

It took three tries to get the chair leg on one side of the table leg, and my foot on the other side. I locked my knee, clenching my teeth and bracing for a lot of pain if I dislocated my knee and twisted. There was a screeching sound, and to my surprise, the chain of the cuffs that locked my ankle to the chair leg snapped. I took a moment to catch my breath, moving my leg around now that it was loose.

I looked up at the door, making sure no one heard the chain break. Then, I latched my free leg around the far leg of the table, wedging the other foot around the table leg as well. With another surge of effort, I snapped that one free.

Now that I had use of both legs again, I was able to move around much more efficiently. However, I still needed to find a way to free my arms, and there wasn't anything I could wedge the rest of the chair against to snap the chains, or to break the arms of the chair off.

I heard sound outside again. Quickly, I slid the chair back behind the table, curving my legs in just enough that I hoped it would look like I remained tied down. When the door opened, an older man stepped in. He was wearing medical scrubs, and carried a tray with food on it. He walked up to the table, setting it down.

"Miss Derevko has insisted that you get something to eat," he said in Swedish. It took me a moment to translate – it wasn't exactly one of the languages I picked up on so quickly.

"How am I supposed to eat if I can't move?" I questioned. The man nodded a little, stepping over and pulling a small set of keys out of his pocket. I waited patiently, not risking a single move until he'd unlocked one hand. He turned to leave just as my now loose left arm shot up, grabbing his neck and slamming his face down into the table.

That was when the door slammed closed.

I snatched the keys from his hand as he slumped to the floor, unlocking my other wrist and rushing to the door. I hit it just as I heard the lock slide into place on the other side.

"Great," I said to myself, shaking my head. "You're out of the chair and locked in a room. Wonderful." I looked around again. There was nothing on the tray I could use – my mother knew better than to give me a knife. So, I returned to the chair, lifting it off the floor and knocking two of the metal legs off by slamming it down onto the table. Now that I had something to use as a weapon, I needed to find a way out.

All of the walls were concrete, and now that I could look around, I saw that the ceiling was a good fifteen feet high. It was paneled, and I would be able to get out that way, but I couldn't reach it, even standing on the table.

I sat down on the edge of the table, trying to come up with some sort of a plan. I'd already checked the older man's unconscious form for keys or a weapon of some sort that I could use. Whoever opened the door to let him in stayed close in case something happened, and slammed the door closed again when they heard me trying to get loose. So, he had nothing on him.

I glanced back at the broken chair on the floor. Even if I hadn't broken the legs off, I wouldn't have been able to use it to reach the ceiling, which had been one of my first ideas. It was simply too high up, and I didn't have anything I could use to pull myself up anyway, even if I did somehow reach the paneling.

Three hours passed. I didn't touch the food my mother had the man bring to me – I didn't trust it. When he came to, he ran to the door and started pounding on it, screaming for someone to let him out. Of course, no one did. Finally, he sat down in the corner of the room and was content to keep an eye on me as I tried to find a way out of the room.

"You're not going to get out of here," he said, this time in perfect English. He didn't even have an accent. I looked over at him from my position on the table, where I stood on the chair – precariously balanced on its broken legs – trying to reach the ceiling. "This room was designed so no one could escape."

"We'll see about that, won't we?" I asked. I knew it was a pretty risky bet, but I was going to try and jump to the ceiling, knocking one of the lightweight panels out of the way and grab onto any pipes or sturdy structures I happened to find on the way, stopping myself from falling. Of course, I'd have to count on the fact that the man didn't come over and try to pull me back down.

"Try if you like, but you won't get far," he said again, shaking his head. He turned back to the door, obviously content that I wasn't going to kill him, and he wasn't going to try and stop me. I rolled my eyes, ignoring him as I moved into position, slowly so as not to knock the chair over, and leapt.

The chair fell over the instant I moved, but I was able to hit the ceiling panel with one hand and knock it out of the way. Of course, having to move it out of the way stopped my momentum, and I came crashing back down to the table. I landed on my elbows, pain shooting up through my joints. I heard the man snicker, and glared at him.

"What did I tell you?" he asked.

"Whatever," I spat, getting to my feet and stretching out my aching arms. I glanced back at the ceiling. The panel I shook loose fell to the floor, leaving a lot of white dust floating in the air. The chair and the broken legs both fell off the table, and lay in a broken heap on the other side of the room. I sighed, walking over to them and starting to get everything set up again so I could try leaping into the ceiling this time.

"Where are you planning to go if you get up there?" the man asked, eyebrows risen in question.

"I'll pick a direction," I snapped, looking over at him. "Now be quiet, I need to concentrate." He snorted, turning away again in annoyance. "Maybe you should thank me. Doesn't look like anyone's coming back for you. If I find a way out, you might not have to die in here."

"Wonderful. And what makes you think I'd take you up on that offer, Miss Bristow?" he asked, looking over at me in question.

"Hey, your choice." I balanced the base of the chair on the broken legs again, climbing onto the chair. It was difficult trying to balance on the chair with two of the legs broken off, but I managed it after a couple of tries. Finally, I stood on the chair again, looking up at the hole that led into the ceiling. And, hopefully, to an escape route.

I was about to jump when I heard the door unlock again. I jumped off the chair, grabbing one of the broken legs to wield like a club, running to the older man and taking his arm. He cried out, but knew I was stronger than him, so he didn't fight back as I used him as a shield, weapon at the ready.

The door opened to reveal a young guard, eyes wide when he looked into the room and saw me using the other man as a body shield. An arm rose into the air behind him, cracking across the back of his skull and he slumped to the floor, holding the door open with his body.

Standing behind him was Vaughn.

I let the older man go, and he was more than happy to run past his colleague and out into the hall, wanting to escape before he was knocked out again, or killed. Vaughn stepped into the room, not saying a word as he pulled me into his arms, sighing in relief when he realized I was all right.

"Syd… Are you okay?" he asked, stepping back and looking me over. I nodded, dropping the broken chair leg to the floor.

"I'm fine," I replied. Before I could say anything more, Vaughn leaned in and kissed me. I wound my arms around his neck, losing myself in the embrace for several minutes. When he finally pulled back, I smiled a little. "How did you find me?"

"Marshall," he answered. "We set up a computer for him at the naval hospital, he found traffic camera footage of the team that raided our van. He tracked them here."

"And my mother? Sloane? Was anyone here?" I asked. Vaughn shook his head.

"We raided the building, but they must have seen us coming. That guard was the only one here, sleeping in the security room," he replied, nodding toward the guard lying unconscious on the ground. I sighed, shaking my head a little. "Come on. Let's get out of here."


	10. Chapter Ten

**Disclaimer: **same as before

**A/N: **Thanks to **Eyghon**, **derevkobristow-spawn**, **vademecum**, **Gils**, and **SlayGal**! Glad everyone seemed happy with my explanation of things. I'm trying something new in this chapter, you'll see what when you get to it, so tell me what you think. Please? I love reviews, even if you don't like it. Thanks!! :-)

OOOOO

After escaping the basement of what I learned was an Omnifam hospital in Zurich, Vaughn and I met up with my father on the ground floor of the building. Despite the lingering anger I felt towards him because of Project Prodigy, I was still happy that he was there and that he participated in rescuing me. The three of us went back to a safe house not far from the hospital, where Dixon waited to take us to the airport for a flight back to LA.

Dixon scheduled a debrief for the next morning, saying that he needed to meet with the directors and the DOJ, explaining why he sanctioned an op without their approval to get me out of custody. He didn't think it would be a problem, even though I could tell he was a little annoyed that my father and Vaughn convinced him to go against protocol.

My father spent most of the flight on the phone, and Dixon slept, giving Vaughn and I the chance to talk. Granted, things between us weren't exactly 'back to normal', and we both acknowledged that it might take some time for them to get that way. However, I was willing to try at it, and he assured me that he felt the same. After everything that came between us, all the forces that tried to pull us apart, giving up now would be letting them win.

So, when we got back to Los Angeles, we fell right back into our old familiar patterns. For a moment, I asked myself if things were moving too quickly, but then discarded that idea. I'd been waiting a whole year for this, so there was no such thing as 'too fast'.

He explained that he couldn't stand his place anymore, so I allowed him to bring some of his things over to my apartment and stay there. Besides, I said, we'd both be getting up early to go to the Rotunda for another lengthy debrief, and then try and figure out what our next move would be now that we lost Sark, again.

"I should have known he'd escape again," I said, shaking my head in disbelief. Vaughn and I were sitting in my kitchen, having ordered takeout from one of the few places in the whole phone book that was still open at midnight.

"Sark?" he asked. I nodded.

"My mother… She told me there was no mission. When I told Sark she asked about his mission, he must have known that he had a chance to get away. She told me I should have been more direct – asked what she meant."

"You couldn't have known she would try to get you to expose yourself," Vaughn insisted, shaking his head a little. I nodded in agreement, but his words didn't ease my guilt over letting him get away again. "What else did she tell you?" I had refused to talk about it on the plane, saying that I still had to think over what happened before I could explain it to anyone else.

"She's the one leading the Covenant," I stated.

"She told you that?"

"Yeah." I paused to take a deep breath, and then began again. "She also said that she was responsible for my missing two years. That she did it to protect me from Sloane."

"What? How would that protect you?"

"That's what I said." I explained that my mother told me that Sloane knew about the prophecy – that Nadia and I would fight and destroy each other – and that he started plotting to kill me before I could kill her. That he wanted to know what she knew, about Rambaldi, and that he would willingly sacrifice my life to reach that endgame.

So, my mother abducted me, making everyone believe I was dead and trying to convince me that I was someone else. She admitted to putting me through some of the most horrible things imaginable, and that she didn't blame me for having my memories of those two years erased.

"There was something else she said," I stated after a pause. "She said Lauren knew she was the one at the head of the Covenant. That McKennas Cole was her handler, and it was his idea for her to… Infiltrate the CIA through you." I chose my words carefully, seeing a flash of pain in Vaughn's eyes as I mentioned Lauren's name. "I wasn't going to say anything, but… You have the right to know. I don't know if she told me the truth, but…"

"It's over now, so I guess it really doesn't matter, does it?" he asked, smiling a little. I reached across the table, laying one hand over his to try and comfort him.

"We'll find them. We'll catch Sark and my mother, and Sloane and Nadia. We'll make sure that they don't get whatever it is they're after." He nodded a little. "I promise. They're not going to get away with this."

OOOOO

_"Julia? Is that you?" I look up at the sound of the clipped British voice, seeing him standing in the doorway. He's just stepped out of the shower, so his hair is all wet and he's just got a towel wrapped around his waist. I smile seductively, making sure the left corner of my mouth curls up, because that's how Julia smiles. I flip my blonde hair over my shoulder, extending a finger and beckoning him._

_He grins. He moves closer, hands locking roughly onto my waist and pulling me to him. He kisses me. Deep down, I am revolted, but I refuse to pull away. I have to make this real – just like last time. All the 'last times' have blurred together now. Its all one big lie, one big betrayal. One that I've got to believe in, in order to make him believe it._

_Make them _all_ believe it._

He grabs my arms, pulls me with him into the bedroom. Practically throws me down on the mattress. I grin at him as he rips my blouse off, the delicate buttons flying everywhere.

_Three hours later, he's sound asleep. I get up, dress, and sneak into the other room where his laptop is. Kendall wants me to get some information from him, as usual. We're looking for a key. Something to unlock another Rambaldi artifact. I need to find it before they do, or I know what they want to do with it._

_Julia is a willing egg donor when her employers ask. They insist that someone who almost looks like her is part of a prophecy. That they need something from her, just to see if this prophecy is true. If she might be linked to it somehow. They tell her it's for the good of the world, that it's something important and could save a lot of people._

_She believes their lies. I know better._

_I slip a minidisk out of the heel of my boot, making sure he's still asleep in the other room. I download the information we need – more codes that will lead to more codes that might lead to the key. Lazarey has the others, but we need this last one. Hopefully, this code will get us ahead of them._

_I slip the disk back into my boot. He stirs as I return to the bed, then rolls over and wraps his arm around me. He smiles at me, and because I can't tell if he's looking, I smile back. He kisses me and I want to vomit._

_But he was right. I'm Julia._

_Because Sydney Bristow is dead._

OOOOO

I jerked upright a little after three in the morning. I felt my entire body soaked in a cold sweat, and all the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood on end, and I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming.

I felt my stomach retch, and shot out of the bed, smacking into an end table and sending a lamp crashing to the floor as I ran for the bathroom. I didn't even get the light turned on, going right to the toilet and throwing up. Several minutes passed before it was over, and I still felt just as sick, even though there was nothing left in my stomach. I leaned back against the wall, tears in my eyes, trying to catch my breath.

After a moment, I noticed that the light was on, and Vaughn knelt down next to me; hand on my shoulder, asking if I was all right. I shook my head, wiping my mouth off with the back of my hand and taking a couple of deep breaths before trying to respond.

"Syd?" he asked again, eyes locked on mine, trying to figure out what just happened. "Are you all right?"

"I don't know," I answered truthfully, swallowing thickly and thinking back on the nightmare I just woke up from. "I had… I think I was dreaming. Only…" I sighed deeply, pulling my knees up to my chest and dropping my head into my hands.

"You were dreaming?" Vaughn questioned, trying to comfort me and get me to talk at the same time.

"I was…" I looked up at him seriously. "It wasn't a dream. Vaughn, I was _remembering_. Something from those two years… All of it was so _real_, I could feel…" I swallowed again, fighting the urge to gag. I could practically _taste _Simon Walker on my lips, in my mouth…

"You said your memories were completely erased," Vaughn said, obviously confused by what I said. "There was some procedure, there was no way to get any of them back."

"I know, and that's what Kendall told me, and everyone else, but… This wasn't a dream. It was like I was _there_. I wasn't dreaming – it was some kind of… I don't know, a flashback or something." I ran one hand up through my hair, breathing shakily.

"Of what?" I just shook my head.

"I can't," I said after a moment. "Not right now, I… I have to talk to Dixon. Find out if my mother did something to me while I was in custody. Maybe she knew some way to reverse what I did…"

"All right," Vaughn agreed, nodding. "We'll talk to him."

OOOOO

To say I was freaked out would be an understatement. 'Panicked' might even fall short. Completely confused and paranoid would probably be a better description of what I felt all night, and the next morning as I drove Sydney back to the Rotunda so she could talk to Dixon.

I awoke when the lamp on her end table crashed to the floor, hearing the bathroom door slam closed a moment later. It took me a moment to remember where I was and what was going on, and when I did, I realized that Sydney got sick. I waited a few minutes before going into the bathroom after her, finding her sitting on the floor in tears.

She told me that she remembered something. That she saw some kind of vivid flashback about her missing two years. She wouldn't say what she remembered, but one thing was for sure – it wasn't good. She didn't say much all morning, and just stared out the window of the car all the way to the Rotunda.

I wanted to ask what was wrong – why she wouldn't tell me about whatever it was she dreamt or remembered, if that was even the case. But, I understood that she didn't want to tell me, that she had to know if it was even possible that she _was _remembering, and not that her mind had just stirred something plausible up after seeing her mother again and finding out she was the one who tried to have Sydney brainwashed.

So, I let her go into Dixon's office to talk to him, going to my desk and starting on a report for the directors about the mission the previous day – the one we kind of created on our own in order to get Sydney away from her mother. It was Monday morning, so it wasn't long before the place bustled with agents and analysts, people talking, just like it was another normal day.

"Hey." I looked up, seeing Weiss standing beside my desk. He pulled a chair over, sitting down next to me. "Where have you been? I've tried calling you all weekend. What's going on?"

"Nothing," I lied. He just looked at me, letting me know he didn't believe me. "It's just… Crazed."

"Yeah, I heard about Sark," Weiss said with a nod. "What happened?"

"You know that this operations facility has been re-tasked, right? Primary objective is now to find Irina Derevko," I replied. Weiss nodded a little.

"Yeah, I know. They think she's the one heading up the Covenant. So, I guess our objective isn't _really _different, since our first objective was to bring them down. I'm thinking finding her will have something to do with that."

"Right," I agreed. "Well, Sark said he had a protocol – a way to contact her and make her think that it was him. Sydney and I ran the protocol, and we did contact her. She wanted a meet set up in Zurich, so we took Sark and planned to run surveillance, try to find out what was going on, how Derevko was involved.

"She knew we were there. Sark used some kind of code phrase, and a team raided the van. I got out, but they captured Sydney."

"Is she all right?" Weiss asked, concerned.

"She's fine. Jack, Dixon and I set up an op, we extracted her. But, we lost Sark, and we have no idea where the rest of them went." Weiss nodded a little.

"But, you guys are all right? There's nothing wrong?" he prodded. I sighed, shaking my head a little.

"Honestly, I don't know yet." I glanced up, seeing Dixon and Sydney approaching. Both Weiss and I got to our feet as the two of them came to where we were. "What's up?"

"I've asked Sydney to go to Medical Services – get things checked out. I have a meeting with Director Newman, he wants to speak with me about last night's op in Zurich. Will you go make sure everything is set up in MS?" Dixon asked me. I nodded.

"Of course," I answered.

"Good." He nodded to Weiss, turning around and going back towards his office. I turned my attention immediately to Sydney.

"What did he say?" I asked.

"He says that it's theoretically possible that my mother could have injected something into me that's re-activated the memory cells from those two years," Sydney replied with a sigh. "He doesn't know what, but he wants MS to check it out, see if there's any kind of chemical anomaly in my blood that could explain last night." I nodded a little.

"Last night? What happened last night?" Weiss asked, looking from me to Sydney and then back again, questioning.

"I think I remembered something," she answered shortly, evidently still not comfortable saying what it was she thought she remembered. "But, I don't know. That's why I have to get this checked out."

"I'll walk you over." She nodded a little, following me toward the Medical Services department.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Disclaimer: **nope, still not mine

**A/N: **Thanks to **derevkobristow-spawn**, **Eyghon**, **daisyduke947**, and **Gils** for reviews!! Here's chapter eleven, it's a bit shorter but hope you like it! :-)

OOOOO

I assured Vaughn that I would be fine and he should get back to writing up some kind of a report on everything that happened with Sark – going to Paris and then to Zurich, up to when he and my father worked to rescue me. I could tell that he wanted to know what my dream – nightmare? memory? – was about the night before, but every time I even thought of it, I felt sick to my stomach again, and I didn't want to explain it to him just yet.

The agents in Medical Services ran some tests, checking my brainwaves for any kind of abnormal activity, drawing blood to look for any kind of chemicals or anything strange, making sure my mother didn't subject me to any kind of conditioning while she held me captive. Of course, I insisted that I felt fine, but knew that if I was subjected to anything, I wouldn't remember it anyway.

I wanted to be a part of the debrief. I wanted to talk to Director Newman, to see what new evidence he might have. Try and figure out a plan for going after my mother now that we knew she was the real enemy. Or, more accurately, that she'd been the real enemy all along.

I found myself wondering how much she planned. How much of what happened was under her control? She'd been responsible for my missing two years, so how much more did she do? Bringing down the Alliance, having Francie killed, almost killing Will…

After several hours of tests, they told me that it might take the rest of the day before we had any results that might tell me where my sudden 'memory' came from. So, they released me from MS, and told me to return to my desk and start working on my own report about the failed recon mission in Zurich.

Vaughn was still at his computer when I returned, and obviously glad to see me. I tried to smiled, but the question of what my mother may have done to me still floated around in my mind. I took a seat at the computer beside Vaughn, not going back to my own desk right away.

"Did they find anything?" Vaughn questioned. I shook my head.

"It'll be tomorrow before they know anything for sure," I answered. He nodded a little. "The dream last night… It was about Simon Walker. The only reason I didn't say anything until now was because just _thinking _about it made me physically sick. I don't know if it was a flashback or just some _nightmare _after seeing my mother." I sighed, shaking my head. "I almost hope they don't find anything."

"Either way, we'll figure it out," Vaughn assured me, smiling sympathetically. "It looks like Dixon's going to be stuck in a meeting with Newman all day, so we can take off once all our reports are finished."

"That's good," I said. "Maybe I'll finally get that time off my father promised me."

"Yeah, right," Vaughn joked in reply, grinning as well. "I talked to Weiss earlier. He's dating some girl, Marie, and wants all four of us to go out for dinner somewhere. Get caught up, you know."

"Sound like fun," I agreed.

"You sure you're up for it?" I smiled.

"I think some wind down time is _just _what I need."

OOOOO

Weiss's date Marie was an upper level analyst at the Rotunda, which made dinner a lot more relaxed without all the lying and the cover stories. She talked about what she was working on for a little while – it had something to do with a new recruiting program, but she couldn't say much more than that. For the most part, the four of us shared stories about past missions and places we saw.

It was nice to have some time away from the darkness of the last several weeks. No one brought up the Covenant or Sark's escape, or anything that happened to Sydney in Zurich. Which, honestly, was a relief.

Weiss was in the middle of a story from one of his high school conquests, something about nearly lighting his hair on fire to try impressing a girl, when my phone rang. I excused myself, seeing that it came from a secure number. I stepped out into the foyer of the restaurant.

"Hello?" I asked, wondering who would be calling my cell phone from a secure line at seven-thirty at night.

"Agent Vaughn, this is CO Everson with the WPP – I have a call routed to you from Wisconsin," a gritty voice said on the other end of the line. "I'll patch it through now."

The line clicked, putting me on hold. After a long moment, someone on the other end picked up, and I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Agent Vaughn, it's Will Tippin," Will's voice spoke to me. "Look, I know I'm not supposed to try and make contact with you, but I can't get in touch with my contact in LA – I didn't know who else to call. I went through channels – the line's secure."

"Yeah," I stated, confused and trying to figure out why Will was calling me. "What's going on?"

"Do you have any way to get in touch with Director Kendall?" Will asked.

"Why do you ask?" I questioned.

"Well… Okay, when I left my official analyst position and went into the program, Kendall contacted me. He said he needed someone anonymous, without ties or loyalties to the agency to do research for him – study some old documents. He said he trusted me, that I knew what I was doing.

"I have some information that he needs to see, but I can't contact him," Will continued. "I've tried, but there's been no answer for days now, and I don't know who else might know where he is. I mean, just if you could tell him I need to get in touch with him, that'd be great."

"I don't know – I haven't seen Kendall for months," I replied.

"Yeah. I know he's DSR. You guys don't have some way of reaching their dispatch?"

"No. Like I said, I haven't seen him." I heard Will sigh.

"All right, uh… Can you at least figure out where he is – why he hasn't made contact? Either tell him I'm looking for him or call my CO and have him tell me where to go next."

"Yeah, of course."

"Great. Thanks." Before I could reply, Will hung up.

I returned to the table, where the others were all looking at me now, wondering what the phone call was about.

"Who was that?" Sydney asked. Though I knew it was dangerous to tell her that Will called – he entered Witness Protection for a reason, after all – I couldn't see not telling her that I just spoke with her best friend.

"It was Will," I answered. Her eyes widened with surprise.

"Will? Why did he call you, is he all right?" she questioned. So, I explained. He was doing some kind of work with Kendall, but couldn't get in contact with him. He wanted me to find Kendall and set up a meeting so Will could give him the research he had. "Research about what?"

"He didn't say. But, he works with Kendall, so…" Sydney nodded a little, understanding without my having to finish my sentence.

"All right," she said after a moment. "We'll call him in the morning."

OOOOO

Vaughn and I said goodbye to Weiss and Marie at the restaurant, and I insisted on quizzing him about Will half the way back to my place. Was he safe? Did he mention anything about his research? Why was he working with Kendall, and how long had that been going on?

"Syd… I don't know," he finally said, looking over at me seriously. "But, once we talk to Kendall, I'm sure we can get some answers." I sighed, finally nodding and stopping with the questions.

Eventually, we changed the subject. I asked if he knew where he wanted to move in order to get away from the house he shared with Lauren. He didn't know yet, but smiled a little at me when he said he wasn't in any big hurry to leave my apartment. I returned the grin.

A few hours later, I lay wide awake in bed, my back to Vaughn and his arm draped protectively over my shoulders. I was exhausted, and sore from my encounter with the strong plastic table during my escape attempt in Zurich.

_Here by my sidean angel  
Here by my side the devil  
Never turn your back on me  
Never turn your back on me again  
Here by my side it's heaven  
Here by my side you are destruction_

The problem was, I didn't _want _to sleep. I feared that if I slept, I would be subject to more dreams or flashbacks, and that was _not _what I wanted. One was more than enough, and I was afraid of what might happen if I kept remembering. I erased those memories of my own free will, risking death so that I would _never _remember what I went through. Just one vivid memory of Simon Walker made me sick to my stomach – what would I do with another two years of those kinds of memories?

_Here by my sidea__new color to paint the world  
__Never turn your back on it  
__Never turn your back on it again  
__Here by my side i__t's heaven_

I sighed, rolling onto my other side so I faced Vaughn. He shifted a little, but my movement didn't wake him.

I missed having him with me every day since I woke up that night in Hong Kong. Now that he was back, we could be together again, and instead of worrying that it wouldn't work or we changed too much, all I felt was relief.

_Careful, be careful  
Careful, be careful  
It's when the world drops off  
When the world drops off  
Careful, be careful _

These 'flashbacks' – if that's what they were – could jeopardize all of that. As for what happened to me, I only knew what I told Kendall, and what I inferred from my 'relationship' with Simon Walker. There could be worse things – horrible things – that I never told anyone and erased from my memory so I never had to try and incorporate those memories back into my normal life. If such things _were _buried somewhere in my mind, I never wanted to face uncovering them.

_And you breathe in and you breathe out  
For it ain't so weird  
How it makes you a weapon  
And you give in and you give out  
For it ain't so weird  
How it makes you a weapon _

For a while, I banished the thoughts of my lost memories, wanting desperately to move on and not have to think about it ever again, and was content to watch Vaughn sleep. The last few days, except for the occasional painful memory or mention of Lauren, I felt like he was his old self again.

_Never turn your back on it  
__Never turn your back on it a__gain  
__Careful, you be careful_

I rested my head in against Vaughn's shoulder, my eyes starting to drop closed against my will. I thought that, maybe, I could settle down enough to sleep, and maybe I was exhausted enough that I couldn't dream. I stayed awake as long as I could, but, finally, the last few long days caught up with me.

_Here by my side  
It's heaven  
Here by my side  
It's heaven  
Here by my side… _


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Disclaimer: **same as before

**A/N: **Thanks to **derevkobristow-spawn**, **vademecum**, and **Eyghon**! The song I used in the last chapter was "Weapon" by Matthew Good - sorry I forgot to put that on there last time. Since the last chapter was shorter, I figured I'd give you one today for good measure. Enjoy, and please keep reviewing!! :-)

**Deception **  
EPISODE 4.04

The next morning, when Sydney and I returned to the Rotunda, Dixon immediately pulled her into his office to go over the findings from Medical Services the day before. I tried to follow, and was more than a little concerned when Dixon wouldn't allow it. But, I wasn't going to learn anything hovering around his office door, so I went to my desk. I needed to try and get in touch with Kendall anyway, and find out what was going on with Will.

It took almost an hour's worth of phone calls just to get a dispatch number for Project Black Hole in Nevada. Most people didn't even know the facility _existed_, so I tried to reach Kendall directly before finding someone that had jurisdiction over the project and was willing to give me a phone number.

"Yes?" a female voice answered on the other end of the phone.

"I was trying to reach Director Kendall," I replied.

"Who's calling, please?" the woman questioned.

"This is Agent Michael Vaughn with the Los Angeles CIA operations center," I answered.

"Just a moment," she stated. A series of routing clicks followed, and then someone else picked up, presumably in a different office.

"May I help you?" the new voice asked, sounding remarkably like the first receptionist I spoke with, only this one sounded either bored or annoyed. Maybe both.

"Is Director Kendall in?" I questioned.

"He's currently unavailable," the woman answered.

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

"May I ask what this is regarding?"

"I got a call last night from an analyst in the Witness Protection Program. He says he does research for Director Kendall and has some documents he needs to get to him. He called me because he hasn't been able to reach the director for at least a couple of days," I explained.

"I'm sorry," the woman said, now sounding a little worried. "Director Kendall is in the field – he should have made contact four days ago, but has been unresponsive after a feedback surge." Her words sent a chill down my spine. Kendall was DSR – he worked studying Rambaldi, so Will was probably researching some of those documents. Now, just as Will made some kind of 'breakthrough', Kendall disappeared. Right as Sark escaped the CIA, and we found out that Irina Derevko was at the head of the Covenant.

This _couldn't _just be coincidence.

"Will you let me know when he makes contact?" I asked.

"Of course."

"Thank you." I hung up, thinking for a moment. Kendall disappeared the night Sydney and I were in Paris with Sark. I didn't know how long Will tried to reach him before calling me, but the fact that he hadn't made contact in four days was a bad sign. Chances were, the Covenant abducted him, or possibly even killed him.

If they tortured him, he might lead them to Will.

After considering the options for a moment, I called Case Officer Everson – Will's CO with Witness Protection. If the Covenant did have Kendall, Will could be their next target.

"Everson," the same gruff voice from the night before barked when he picked up the phone on the first ring.

"This is Agent Vaughn, I need to speak with you about Will Tippin," I replied.

"He called to speak to you last night," Everson stated.

"Right," I answered. "Look, I know this isn't exactly how you guys do things there, but I think that Tippin is in danger. His identity in the program may have been compromised. I have reason to believe that the same terrorist organization that tried to kill him the first time – the reason he entered the program – may know where he is. He might have information that can help us bring them to a stop."

"What information?" Everson questioned, obviously not believing a single word I said. I sighed.

"I don't know." I heard Everson grunt. "Look, what I know is that he had a contact in another branch of the agency. He called me because he can't reach this contact, and I've been informed by his dispatcher that he's been missing for four days already," I explained.

"You don't have any proof that my man is being threatened by this organization, and you're right – this isn't how we do things. I work to keep my people safe, and I'm not going to risk pulling him out because you have some kind of a 'hunch'."

"Sir, with all due respect, there is a good chance that Will Tippin has information that could help us bring this group down, and if they get to him first, we're never going to know what that is. I mean, all I'm asking is to talk to him, find out what he knows."

"I'll see what I can do," Everson finally allowed. I thanked him, and he hung up.

Will must have been pretty desperate to call me, knowing that it was against protocol and a dangerous thing to do. With Kendall missing, the Covenant might come after Will at any moment. I knew trying to contact him directly might compromise him, but if he was already in danger, pulling him out might be safer.

Of course, finding a way to do that would be the tricky part…

OOOOO

The second I stepped into the Rotunda, Dixon found me and took me into his office, telling Vaughn not to follow. He told me that he had the results from the Medical Services tests yesterday, and that he needed to talk to me alone. I knew immediately that he knew something – and that it wasn't something good.

"Sydney… Have a seat," Dixon said. I sat down in front of his desk, swallowing thickly and looking at the folder sitting in front of him.

"What did they find?" I questioned. Dixon sighed a little, sitting down as well and opening the file. "Dixon, come on, if they found something, I need to know what it is."

"There's evidence of an unknown chemical compound in your bloodstream. A compound that contains… Cellular regenerative properties. At this time, MS believes that – while in your mother's possession – she injected you with a compound that's slowly re-awakening the memory cells in your brain that were decayed when you had your memories erased."

"Is there even something that can _do _that?" I asked. But, as soon as the question left my mouth, I knew the answer.

Allison Doren.

Another member of Project Christmas, Allison Georgia Doren had been doubled to look like my friend Francie. She and Sark murdered my best friend, and she nearly killed Will. I shot her, three times, just before I passed out and the Covenant abducted me.

When I saw her again, she said something about a medication. Some kind of formula hidden in the Rambaldi manuscript I retrieved from Tunisia. The Covenant used it to heal her wounds – save her life. If it could do that, it was possible that it could re-activate the cells in my brain destroyed or damaged by the technology used to erase my memories of those two years.

"But… Why would my mother do something like this?" I asked, looking at Dixon in confusion. "There's no benefit to me remembering anything – the only thing I knew that they needed was where the Rambaldi cube was. And she told me that it was a plant. There was never any real DNA."

"It's possible that she wanted to test the compound on you, to see if it would have some effect on your memory," Dixon began, looking up at me from the file. "Or, there really _is _something in your memories that she wants access to. Something she can't get any other way."

"And making me remember everything _else _she put me through?" I questioned, feeling tears in my eyes. "Dixon, if there is something… My mother was the one responsible for my disappearance. If there was anything she wanted to know, she could have just gotten it from me. Couldn't she? She thought I was convinced, that I believed I was Julia Thorne."

"Maybe something closer to your escape – something she didn't have the chance to ask you about directly, if you were indeed in contact during that time," Dixon answered.

"Dixon… I know what I said before, but, I don't _want _to remember what I went through. I mean, the one flashback I had the other night…" I trailed off, not wanting to think about the vivid memory.

"All right. I'll speak with MS, see if they can analyze the compound. Maybe there's something we can do to reverse the process. In the meantime, we'll have to hope that there isn't some sinister motive behind all of this. If there is something in your memory that Derevko wants, we have to make certain she doesn't get to it."

"Okay."

"Now, we have a debrief scheduled for this afternoon. Director Newman wants to speak with you about what your mother said to you in Zurich – run her information by analysis. Maybe we can track her somehow, figure out where she and the others went when they left the Omnifam hospital," Dixon explained. I just nodded.

After letting me look over the folder from MS – written in a bunch of medical terminology and equations that I didn't understand – Dixon allowed me to leave his office. I didn't mention anything about Will calling Vaughn the night before – I still didn't know what was going on with that, and wanted to try and talk to Will before things went any further.

OOOOO

Sydney was still in Dixon's office when I got off the phone with CO Everson. There was obviously something going on, and I knew Will was in danger until we knew that Kendall wasn't in the hands of the Covenant. I wasn't getting anywhere with his CO at the program, so I needed to find someone that could help me. And the only person I knew with enough connections to go over his head was Jack Bristow.

I wrote down all the information I got from Project Black Hole about Kendall's disappearance, and headed over to Jack's workstation. He was standing off to the side of the computer tower, talking to Director Newman. His back was to me, and I was about to interrupt their discussion, when something Newman said stopped me cold.

"The story you came up with seems to have pacified her for now, but she's not going to believe it forever," Newman stated. "You're certain that she only read the preliminary documents in Prodigy?"

"Yes," Jack replied. "I found her in Wittenberg before she had the chance to look at everything." _They're talking about Sydney_, I realized, moving closer to the computer tower and trying not to be seen as I listened to their conversation.

"Good," Newman replied with a little nod. "We can't have her learn the truth about all of this. We've only got a few more days before everything's in place."

"I know. I'll make sure she doesn't suspect anything," Jack said.

"All right. We'll move to Phase Three as scheduled," Newman replied. Jack nodded, and the director walked away. I stood where I was for a long moment, trying to figure out what I just witnessed. Evidently, whatever Jack and Newman told Sydney about Project Prodigy was a lie, and there was some other motive behind all of it.

"Agent Vaughn." I jumped when I heard Jack speaking to me, startled. "Did you need something?"

"Yeah," I said, explaining what I'd come over to tell him in the first place, all the while trying to figure out what he could have meant by 'Phase Three', and what Sydney was really in the middle of.

I showed Jack the information I had on Kendall's mission – or what information I'd been given, considering that it was an active mission and he was still missing – and explained that he was working with Will Tippin, and I thought Will was in danger as long as Kendall was missing. He nodded a little, apparently agreeing with my theory.

"You may be right," he finally said. "If the Covenant has indeed abducted Director Kendall, there's a good chance they'll torture him for information. If Tippin has something they want, it won't be long before they go after him."

"Right," I agreed. "I talked to Will's CO with Witness Protection, but he won't do anything unless we have some kind of confirmation that Will is in danger. That's why I came to you – I thought you might know some way to convince him that we need to get whatever information Will has, whether that means scheduling a drop or going there to meet with him…"

"I'll call his Case Officer, see what I can do. If I can't get anything from him, we might be able to find a way to contact Will directly," Jack stated. "Go to Records, there's a file there I put together back when Will was investigating SD-6. There's a contact protocol there we used back when we tried to locate Will's source. If I can't talk some sense into Everson, we're going to need it."

"All right," I agreed. Jack went to his computer, getting right on the phone.

I went downstairs to the Records department. It was the perfect excuse – if Sydney was right, and Jack brought the files on Project Prodigy back to the Rotunda with him – it would be down here. If I could find it, I could figure out what Newman meant by 'Phase Three', and maybe tell Sydney what they were planning before they got the chance to do… Whatever they were going to do.

Of course, finding _anything _in Records was nearly impossible. The place was an archive of old files and documents, reports and memos that had little or no significance. And somewhere down here was one file that might give me some answers on just what the hell was going on…

Three and a half hours later, and just when I gave up looking for the needle in the proverbial haystack, I found the black project folder Jack locked in the bank in Wittenberg. I felt excited about tracking it down, until I opened it and remembered that it was on black light-sensitive paper, and I couldn't read it without a UV light. So, instead of having answers, I now held two-dozen sheets of black paper I couldn't read.

I remembered Sydney saying that the paper was black light-sensitive, and cursed myself for not stopping at op tech and getting a UV light before I came downstairs. I flipped through the pages, trying to figure out what to do now. If I left the file here, someone could move it or take it away before I made it back. But, if I took it with me, that could be dangerous as well.

I went to put the pages back in the folder when I noticed that one of them had a regular piece of notebook paper taped to the back. There was the word 'contacts' written at the top of the page, and a list of names. I scanned the list, seeing 'Bristow, Jonathan D.' listed near the top. Director Newman's name was there, as well as 'Brill, Thomas M.' and several other names I didn't recognize.

At the bottom, however, was a name I _did _know.

'Vaughn, William T.'

I stared at the page for a long moment, not believing my eyes. I shook my head, staring at my father's name like a hallucination, expecting it to disappear right in front of me any second.

It didn't. Somehow my father was a part of Project Prodigy.

I needed to have a word with Jack. I glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall over my head, seeing that the debrief on Zurich should have started twenty minutes ago. I swore under my breath, grabbing the folder Jack sent me to retrieve and shoving Project Prodigy back where I found it, racing back upstairs and hoping no one would catch onto what I found.

OOOOO

Something was strange during the debrief.

Director Newman explained what happened, and went into analysis mode with Dixon about where my mother and Sloane went after leaving Zurich. I listened for a while, but then I noticed that something was strange. My father, rather than paying attention and contributing to the analysis, looked through a file Newman handed him at the start of the debrief. He held it so no one could see what was in it, and didn't look up once.

It was strange, but I didn't think much of it, until I noticed Vaughn staring at him. There was obviously something I didn't know. So, when Newman finally ended the debrief, I pulled Vaughn aside before he could leave the room.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked in a harsh whisper. "What was in that folder my dad was looking at?" Vaughn glanced around a moment, and then took my arm and led me back into the corner where we usually went to talk.

"I told your father that Will called. I wasn't getting anywhere with his CO at the program, so I went to him, thinking he might have someone higher up we could go to," he explained.

"And Kendall?" I questioned.

"I did reach his dispatch at Project Black Hole. He's been missing for four days," he answered.

"So he's going to try and contact Will?" I questioned.

"Yeah. That was Will's folder – your dad said there was some kind of protocol there, back when he was investigating SD-6, that we could use to contact him safely," Vaughn continued. He paused for a moment. "And there's something else I think you should know."

"What?"

"When I went to talk to Jack, I heard him talking to Director Newman. They said something about Project Prodigy, and about 'Phase Three', how everything would be ready within the next few days."

"What does all of that mean?"

"I don't know. But… Whatever they told you about Project Prodigy in that meeting, it might not have been the truth." I nodded a little, trying to absorb what Vaughn told me. There was a chance that my father lied to me.

"Why would they lie? I mean, that's a hell of a lot of trouble to keep me from finding out the truth about that project," I replied.

"I have no idea. But, I did find something that might explain that." Before he could continue, the door to the small corner area opened, and my father stepped into the room.

"I apologize for the interruption, but we've just gotten word from a contact in Palermo," he stated. He looked over at Vaughn seriously. "It's Lauren. They believe they found her body." I watched Vaughn react to my father's words, nodding a little. "They want someone to identify her remains."

"I could do it," I offered. Vaughn shook his head.

"No, it's all right," he assured me, looking back at my father. "I'll go."

"There's a plane waiting," my dad stated. "We should go." He glanced at me once more, then turned and left the room. Vaughn looked back at me, but I stopped him before he could say anything.

"Go. We'll talk when you get back," I assured him. He nodded, stepping forward and kissing me briefly before following my father out of the room.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Eyghon, derevkobristow-spawn, vademecum, **and **Gils **for reviews!! :-) Here's the next chapter. It might be after Christmas before I upload another, because I'm working and then I'm out of town for a few days. I promise to update as much as I can though! :-)

OOOOO

Jack explained that he wanted to come to Palermo as well, to speak with one of his contacts there about where Derevko might have gone after vanishing from Zurich. Aside from the pilots of the CIA charter jet, it was just the two of us on the plane. I watched him study some documents for a while, trying to find the right time to tell him I knew he was up to something. After staring at him for a while, he noticed my gaze, looking up at me with his eyebrows risen in question.

"I know you lied to Sydney about Project Prodigy," I stated. "I know you're planning something with Director Newman – something called 'Phase Three'."

"Perhaps you shouldn't believe everything you hear by eavesdropping, Agent Vaughn," Jack replied, looking back down at whatever he was working on. It didn't surprise me that he knew I listened in on his conversation.

"What is Phase Three?" I asked. Jack looked up again.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he answered.

"I think you do," I shot back. He smiled a little, shaking his head. "All right. Then, do you want to tell me why my father's name is on the list of 'contacts' attached to Project Prodigy?" This got Jack's attention, and the smile vanished.

"You've acquired a habit for retrieving information you're not authorized to access," he said, serious all of a sudden when he realized I jeopardizing his endgame. "And, while you've gotten away with it numerous times in the past, your luck will not continue indefinitely."

"Why is my father's name on that list?" I asked again. Jack sighed. "What does that list have to do with whatever the hell you've put Sydney in the middle of?"

"Agent Vaughn," Jack started, lowering his voice and leaning in, his gaze locked on mine, "your feelings for my daughter, whatever they may be, have never been something I've approved of. Both of you have done some very stupid and reckless things for the sake of the other, which is precisely the reason the CIA frowns on personal relationships between agents.

"You are now looking to get in the middle of something you have no business investigating, no matter how hard you attempt to convince yourself otherwise. Now, I don't know how you found my contact list for Project Prodigy, or what you think that means. But, if you know what's good for you, you'll stop investigating all of this, _right_ now," Jack stated, intensity burning in his eyes as he spoke.

"Is that a threat?" I questioned.

"I'm sorry Agent Vaughn," Jack replied, reverting to his usual calculated and un-readable self. "I don't know what you're talking about."

OOOOO

Jack and I didn't say anything more to each other as we landed in Palermo, meeting with the man that called to say they found Lauren's body. Jack didn't say anything about my relationship to her, and the man that picked us up didn't bother to ask. Jack climbed into the back of the car, focusing on his paperwork and not listening as our contact explained how the man Sydney clipped in the shoulder went to the police. They investigated the area, going down into the hole to see what the Covenant wanted to find. There was nothing there, aside from the body of a woman.

I found myself wondering why I even had to ID her body. The man seemed sure it was Lauren. The story made perfect sense, and the description he gave – blonde hair, dark eyes, between twenty-eight and thirty-two years old, with multiple gunshot wounds to the torso and head – fit perfectly.

Despite all of those questions circulating in my mind, I went along with the procedure, following the man into a small local morgue. There was very little light inside, being nighttime, and there was only one gurney in use in the autopsy room.

"Are you ready?" the man questioned, leaving me standing at one side of the gurney as he circled it and took a hold of the sheet over the body. Jack stood toward the bottom of the gurney, several feet away out of some sense of respect he felt despite how much he obviously disliked me.

"Yes," I finally answered. The man pulled the sheet away, revealing Lauren's face. Her eyes were cold, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Someone cleaned most of the blood off her face, but I could see the gunshot wound in her left cheek. I nodded a little. "That's her."

The man nodded his understanding, replacing the sheet. He turned to a small metal tray on a stand beside the gurney, picking up a small, sealed plastic bag. When he showed it to me, seeing it was honestly worse than having to come all this way to ID her body.

Lauren's wedding ring.

Suddenly, all of that emotion hit me again. Listening to what Jack said about Irina avoiding his questions of her activities, her loyalties. Seeing Lauren do the same damned thing when I questioned her, after Sydney told me she thought Lauren was the Covenant mole. I tore through her things, finding a wig and a gun. The very gun used to kill a computer expert in Germany, right in front of me.

My wife was a traitor.

It was all a lie. Her false comfort, trying to convince me I wasn't at fault for Sydney's death. She used my grief over her disappearance to manipulate me. Make me do what she wanted. Nearly got Sydney and everyone at the Rotunda killed.

Tortured me. Tried to kill me.

"Would you like this back?" the man asked, evidently not noticing the pain in my eyes. I swallowed, clenching my jaw.

"Do whatever you want with it," I replied. I didn't even glance at Jack as I turned away from Lauren's body, walking out of the room.

OOOOO

_"Julia Thorne, I'd like you to meet Simon Walker." I glance up from my book. It's written in Russian. I have some recollection that it's a gift from someone. But all of that is lost as I look up at the man before me. I know him. Brown hair, cocky smile._

_McKennas Cole._

_He steps to the side, and there's another man behind him. I stand, looking at Simon Walker. He's got dark black hair. He lets his eyes wander down my body, an approving grin on his face. I turn up one corner of my mouth. I've experimented with the little quirks and habits of Julia – how she stands, the way she smiles, the way her voice sounds when she's happy or angry. It's all important. The smallest slip and-_

No! _I caution myself. _Don't even think that!

_"A pleasure," I say, voice low and sultry, my eyelids drooping a little as I look at Simon's face. I know the power this gaze holds, and I'm never afraid to use it. He grins, shaking my outstretched hand._

_"Oh, I'm sure it will be," he answers. Inwardly, I roll my eyes, annoyed as hell and sick of men looking at my body and blonde hair like I'm a piece of meat. Outwardly, I smile._

_"Mister Walker is looking for someone with your… Expertise… In Africa. He's interested in an interview," Cole continues. I look to him, trying to mask my emotions. This is a business proposal. They want me in the field. This is my chance – a chance to get away from the Covenant. Contact the CIA; tell them I'm still alive._

_My pulse quickens, and I cover it with a sigh, acting like I'm bored with all the formalities and procedures. The way everything Cole says is cryptic. I shrug one shoulder, sitting back down._

_"What would you like to know?" I ask, still in that unfamiliar voice. Simon grins, taking over the meeting. Cole steps to the side of the room, watching me with that same grin on his face. He knows something, I realize, but I don't know what._

_"It's not really much about the 'knowing'," he says. I notice his British accent. "It's about seeing what you can do, beautiful." I raise one eyebrow, feigning curiosity. He doesn't explain – just turns and leaves. I follow him, Cole along behind the two of us._

_We enter another room. There is a desk and a large mirror on the back wall. I see a man seated on the other side of the desk. He lights up when he sees me, smiling. It's one of my contacts – a freelancer I knew before the destruction of SD-6._

_"Sydney! Sydney Bristow, thank goodness. Please, you must help me out of here!" he says._

Compartmentalize_, I demand myself. _You are playing a role. Do not falter, or Cole is going to put a bullet in your head.

_I furrow my brow, looking at Simon Walker. He just grins and looks at Cole. I follow his gaze, absently wondering if he ever stops smiling._

_"This man knows you as another woman," Cole begins. He shrugs a little, taking a knife out of his belt. The other man stands, looking frightened. I use all my willpower not to react emotionally as Cole hands me the knife. "A dead woman. Your interview can be a success, depending on what you do with that knife."_

_I nod, and he and Simon exit the room._

_"Sydney, please tell me. What is the meaning of this?" I look at the man. His name is Karam. One of the defectors from Hassan's arms trade in Egypt. Karam is desperate. Happy to see me, of course, but doesn't understand why I have the knife._

_Sydney Bristow cannot kill this man._

But I am not Sydney Bristow.

_I turn to him, readying myself for what I already know I have to do. He backs up, and I walk towards him. He sees what I plan to do, and fights back. He shoves me away. My fight instinct kicks in, and I grab his shirt, hitting him in the face. He stumbles, hitting the table._

_He kicks up and catches me in the chin. I fall back, crashing into the wall and almost dropping my knife. I snap a kick into his chest, and he hits the large mirror, shattering it instantly. I duck the flying glass, grabbing the back of his head and slamming his face down into the table. He cries out as his nose shatters, begging me to stop, saying that he doesn't understand. I lean in, whispering so only he can hear me._

_"I'm sorry."_

_And then I slit his throat._

_I back away. He chokes, blood running all over his shirt. He clasps at the huge wound gaping in his neck. I struggle not to react. Jaw clenched, staring at him. My only focus is on my breathing; a little fast from the fight, but not the heaving sobs I want so badly to fall into. I've just murdered a friend. Killed him to save myself._

_Karam dies._

_I throw the knife to the floor. On a suspicion, I turn around and look where the large mirror once stood. It opens into another room. Cole sits beside the gaping hole, a smile on his face. Simon stands beside him, but moves to join me once he sees Karam is dead._

_Behind him is my mother._

_"Julia," she says with a smile. The name sounds foreign on her tongue, like she's been experimenting with it but still doesn't like using it. "Wonderful job." I just nod._

_"Are you ready?" Simon asks. I turn away from my mother. I am not shocked to see her here. I know she runs the Covenant. I've known since she came to see Julia Thorne three weeks ago and gave her an oldcopy of Alice in Wonderland,translated into Russian._

_"I'm ready for anything."_

OOOOO

"Sydney?"

I jerked away from the hand on my shoulder, my chair moving with me and nearly dumping me on the floor at the sudden movement. I gasped for breath, sweaty and shaking. I looked up, seeing Dixon standing beside my desk. He looked shocked at my reaction.

I glanced around. I was still at the Rotunda. It was late. I started running an options report for Dixon and Newman, and put my head down – just for a second. I fell asleep.

"Sydney, are you all right?" Dixon asked. I nodded.

"What time is it?" I questioned.

"After eight," Dixon answered.

"I'm sorry. I just went to rest my eyes for a second. I set my computer to process some data – it took forever," I explained.

"It's all right," Dixon assured me, smiling a little. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course," I insisted. He nodded, turning and going back to his office. I sighed, turning back to my computer. My program still ran on the hard drive. I only slept for about twenty minutes. I stared at the computer for a moment, and then opened a search window.

Back when I first became a double agent for the CIA, I registered all of my freelance connections as informants. The agency recorded them all in a database. I typed 'Karam Mudarass' – the name of the man I killed in my dream.

Only a couple of seconds passed before a photo of that man popped up on my screen. There was a list of when they contacted him, and what information he gave the CIA. I scanned down this list to the bottom. The last entry made my blood run cold.

'Contact assassinated by Covenant operative, Nov. 03. Identity of assassin unknown.'

I tried ignoring Vaughn's warning that my father lied about Project Prodigy. I looked at those pages myself. Everything he and Director Newman said to me seemed to make perfect sense, but if there was one thing I learned about my father, it was that he could hide things just as well as Arvin Sloane. He could be lying, and I wouldn't know it.

He and Vaughn went to Palermo. There weren't many other agents around at this time of night, and Newman and the others hadn't left the options briefing, trying to figure out where my mother went after Zurich.

So, I went down to the records room on the sublevel.

My father brought the folder back with him, after he found me in Wittenberg. It would be downstairs somewhere. I needed to find that project folder. Read everything there, not just the first few pages.

It was time to find the truth.

OOOOO

I avoided Jack on the ride back to the plane, and focused on some documents the contact in Palermo gave us. He didn't even bother to look at me. Like it was so straightforward. He practically admitted to there being _something_ going on that he either lied about or never admitted in the first place. Obviously, he made his decision. Ignore me unless I pushed my 'investigation', and deal with me when and if he needed to.

If I planned to press the matter, I needed a quieter way to do so. I mistakenly believed that I could get some straight answers from Jack. And, once again, I noticed how by-the-book and easy to follow his logic was whenever it _didn't _have something to do with Sydney. And, when it did, he was a very dangerous and unpredictable person. He threatened me several times in the past, and I knew to take him very seriously when he did so. Especially where his daughter was concerned.

That was the one part of this whole thing that didn't make any sense. I knew something more was involved – whatever they said about Project Prodigy wasn't true. But why would he keep that information from Sydney? Why would he threaten me for trying to find it? And – perhaps the biggest question for me – what the hell did _my _father have to do with all of this?

Project Prodigy had a list of 'contacts'. I didn't know if that meant consultants, assets, information, or people that actually participated in the project. I wished I knew a way to contact some of the people on that list. Maybe I could find someone more willing to answer my questions, since Jack obviously wouldn't do it.

I knew the CIA kept a protocol to contact former agents. I met Thomas Brill before, twice. He told me Irina Derevko killed my father because he took Nadia out of a KGB facility, not because she received orders to kill him. Brill told me that my father was a Follower of Rambaldi.

Then it hit me.

The project was referenced SAB – Sydney's initials – 47. Forty-seven was Rambaldi's favorite number. One that he used to call attention to something significant in his prophecies or his artifacts. Brill's name was on that list… My father's name. That list was a list of the members in Rambaldi's order.

Jack's name was on that list. Jack Bristow was a _Follower of Rambaldi_!

It sounded absurd. Jack always seemed the least interested in Rambaldi's prophecies. But, if Sydney was right about his having a hand in her recruitment into SD-6, and her disappearance, it made perfect sense.

He used his daughter to gather the artifacts. Letting her focus on everything but the reasons for the search for Rambaldi. And, somehow, Lauren must have found out. She directed Sydney to the vault in Wittenberg; the file. To show her who had really been running the game all along.

Her father.

"We've got a lead." I nearly fell out of my seat, my train of thought completely derailed by Jack Bristow's voice. He sat down across from me, holding a sheet of notebook paper. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's all right," I lied. Forcing myself not to react to certain realizations and bits of information was a skill I learned from Sydney. I didn't want Jack to know that I knew at least a part of his real endgame. And I needed to find a way to contact Thomas Brill, as soon as possible.

"I made contact with Will. I explained our situation. He'd like to meet, possibly accompany us back to the Rotunda. He says he has information on Rambaldi, of all things," Jack explained. I nodded a little. His ploy was perfect. Whatever interest in Rambaldi he harbored, he masked it perfectly by feigning complete disinterest. He was the last person any of us would suspect to be a Follower of Rambaldi – to believe in his prophecies.

"Are we going straight there?" I questioned. Jack nodded.

"Considering that Director Kendall is still missing, I don't want to waste any time getting to Will. There's a good chance the Covenant will want to know whatever he knows, and if they find him first, that leaves us at a disadvantage. Not to mention that they might just kill him."

"And his CO at the program? I'm guessing he doesn't know about any of this," I replied.

"No. But, I'm sure that he'll reconsider his position on going against protocol once he realizes how important this information is to our investigation and fight against the Covenant." He paused, looking at me seriously for a moment. I steeled my gaze, not wanting him to realize that I knew anything. "We'll land in Wisconsin in a few hours. We'll have to be ready for anything."


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Disclaimer**: same

**A/N: **Thanks to **derevkobristow-spawn**, **daisyduke947**, **vademecum**, **Gils** and **Eyghon **for reviews! Sorry this chapter took so long to post! I got back from vacation and the site wouldn't let me log on, so it took an extra couple of days to get this one ready. The lyrics in this chapter are "Wth >You" by Linkin Park, off the album Reanimation. Please review!! :-)

OOOOO

I didn't even leave the Rotunda, despite the fact that midnight came and went. I spent several hours searching for the Project Prodigy folder, but someone moved it or took it away somewhere. Which meant either someone knew I was looking for it, or that Vaughn found it before the debrief. He didn't have the chance to say if he learned anything from finding the project folder. I would have to wait until he and my father returned from Palermo.

And I still needed to sort out what my second flashback meant. I knew of at least two men I murdered while I pretended to be Julia Thorne. How many others were there? Now I knew that I was in contact with my mother. Why didn't I tell Kendall that? It seemed pretty important – my mother ran the Covenant. So, why didn't I ever tell him anything?

I went back upstairs and into Dixon's office. Despite the complete exhaustion I felt, I didn't want to go home until my father and Vaughn got back from Palermo, which I knew might take the rest of the evening. Dixon sat at his desk, on the phone, but waved for me to come inside. I did, waiting until he was off the phone.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"That was Jack," he replied, standing and buttoning his suit jacket to try and cover his wrinkled shirt. "He and Vaughn just got back from Palermo. They're on the way in now."

The two of us went to wait in the main room of the Rotunda. I could see that Dixon felt just as tired as I did, but I wanted to know if anything useful came from the contact in Palermo.

When my father and Vaughn returned, Will was with them.

"Will!" I exclaimed, surprised to see him. I wanted to know what was going on – what made him call Vaughn at dinner the other night – but never expected him to show up at the Rotunda. He smiled at me, and we embraced for a moment. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, that's a great way to greet your best friend," he shot back with a grin. I rolled my eyes a little. "Thanks. I appreciate that."

"Okay, okay. It's great to see you," I allowed. "Now, what are you doing here?"

"Will has some information that I think we all need to hear," my father answered. Dixon led the way into the briefing room. As we all moved to take our seats, I shot a concerned glance at Vaughn, wanting to make sure he was all right after having to go and ID Lauren's body. He smiled, letting me know he was fine.

I sat down beside Vaughn, my father taking the other side of the table. Dixon sat in his usual place just to the side of the large computer screen, letting Will take the floor. He opened a black folder he carried in with him, taking a disk out and putting it in one of the computers. A moment later, an image of a document appeared. It was page 47 of the Rambaldi manuscript – the one with my image sketched onto it.

"Okay," Will started. "Now, as everyone knows, this is one of the pages from Rambaldi's book."

"How did you get this?" Dixon asked, looking at Will in surprise.

"Director Kendall from DSR gave me photos of the entire book. I kept them on my computer. He's had me doing analysis for him ever since I got back from Graz," Will explained, smiling at me a little. I contacted him after trying dream therapy to recover my lost memories, and the two of us ended up going on a mission to Graz. He killed Allison Doren, and we got the Rambaldi cube.

"The DSR already ran analysis on the entire manuscript," my father stated, obviously confused.

"You're right – they did. They used the code key and translated all of this, but I don't think they were reading the meaning correctly," Will replied. "Now, the prophecy says, word-for-word, 'This woman, here depicted, will possess unseen marks. Signs that she will be the one to bring forth my works. Bind them with fury, a burning anger, unless prevented. At vulgar cost, she will render the greatest power, unto utter desolation'," Will read off a sheet in his folder.

"And the DSR thinks this is something to do with a weapon and ending the world, right?" I asked.

"Right. That's why they wanted me to run a check on it," Will answered. "See… I think it sounds bad because that's how Rambaldi wrote it. Now, I've studied this thing, and the more I look at it, it's like it says something else."

"What?" Dixon asked.

"Well, here. He mentions 'the greatest power', and how the Chosen One will render it 'unto utter desolation'. I think he means destroying some kind of a weapon. Something he built back when he was alive, and this prophecy is about the person that stands to destroy that weapon."

"Wait, so… Rambaldi didn't want the weapon destroyed, so he made the prophecy sound like a bad thing?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah," Will agreed. "That's what I think. I think that he wants his 'greatest power' to be realized, but you've got the power to stop it."

"What's he mean by 'vulgar cost'?" Vaughn questioned. Will shook his head a little.

"I don't know. Most of this stuff is pretty hard to read, and I could have it completely wrong," Will answered. He picked up a sheet of paper, looking at it for a moment. "But, there was a reference further into the document that I couldn't make heads or tails of. He says something about a triumphant return, and a device called 'The Sphere of Life'."

"Sloane," my father stated, looking across the way at me.

"He has Nadia with him – they might have already found it," I stated.

"We never considered that it might be some kind of a weapon," he continued. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Will looking from my father to me and to my father again, obviously confused.

"Yeah, but Doctor Lee said that we would find 'Rambaldi'," Vaughn threw in. "You don't think that's what he means by the 'return', do you?"

"I guess it's possible. But, I thought they burned Rambaldi at the stake as a heretic," I replied, looking over at my father in question.

"Okay, I missed something. What just happened?" Will asked, looking at all of us in question.

"We've discovered that there's another Rambaldi artifact, called the Sphere of Life. The organization responsible for Sydney's disappearance recently started a search for it, but at the wrong location. We believe Arvin Sloane now has access, through Sydney's sister Nadia, to the correct location," my father explained.

"Since when do you have a sister?" Will asked, looking at me.

"All right. We have to find Sloane. If the Sphere of Life is some kind of a weapon, we need to make sure that it does not fall into his hands, or the hands of the Covenant. I'll stay and try and find a lead, but I want everyone else back here at seven tomorrow for an options briefing," Dixon stated. He stood, going back to his office.

"You should get to a CIA safe house," my father said to Will, getting to his feet as well. "We still don't know if the Covenant will try to locate you."

"Right," Will said with a nod. He glanced at me again, obviously questioning what the hell he just witnessed, but knew better than to say anything.

"You two," my father continued, looking over at Vaughn and I. "Get some rest."

OOOOO

_I have to escape._

_There is something I know – something they want. I don't want to think about it. Just memorize the number. I've already hidden the source. I knew it would be better to destroy it, lessen the chance that they would ever find the code, but if I did that, they might kill me. I can't let that happen. I have to get back; I have to stop them before things get any worse. I can't do that if I'm dead._

_I'm pacing my room; blonde hair pushed angrily out of my face every couple of minutes. I want to pull it back, but Julia never does that. I'm so sick of Julia. I don't want to remember her._

_My plan is in place. I've got the appointments all set up tomorrow. I'll leave first thing in the morning, Disappear. Change my hair back, and then meet with the doctor. I've already sent the disc to Kendall. He'll be mad, but he has to understand… I didn't even tell him the truth. They can't know that I knew – that I was cooperating with the CIA the entire time. Or, once again, they'll kill me._

_I'm scared. Terrified, and I can't stop shaking. I don't know if this is going to work. There's a good chance that I'll die trying to erase my memories. The doctor is the leading professional in the field, and he's never had a full test case like this before._

_That's what I am. A test case._

_The door opens._

_"Julia?" I look over at the sound of that voice. That voice grates on my nerves. Every time I hear it, I want to choke it out of that woman. Her naturally blonde hair and her dark eyes, her pale skin… I don't want to see her. I would hate her on principle alone, but there's so much more reason for it than that. I wish it was that simple._

_I wish I only hated her because she married _him.

_"Lauren," I reply, calm and collected as soon as she enters the room. "Did you need something?"_

_"I need to speak with you," she answers. I nod, and she closes the door. I feel the fury behind my eyes, the anger. I know exactly what she is doing, and while I want to run off to LA and find Vaughn, tell him everything… I know I can't. Because if I disappear with my memory in tact, they will find me. And they will kill us both._

_"Of course," I reply. Lauren walks into the room. She is angry about something, but I don't know what it is. She narrows her eyes._

_"Where is it?" she questions._

_"Where is what?" I play dumb. She shakes her head._

_"You know perfectly well what I mean," she answers. "The artifact. I know you retrieved it from the cave. What did you do with it?" I smile. I can't help myself, and I smile. She looks surprised._

_"You would like that, wouldn't you? Take the cube back to Derevko and pretend it was your victory," I snap. There is a rivalry here, I realize. Always has been. She is competing with me for Irina Derevko's attention, not realizing that I get so much of it because I am her daughter._

_"My mission is already set, thank you very much," she shoots back. This time, she notices the flash of anger in my eyes. She realizes that something has just happened._

_I have just slipped._

_Her eyes get wide. It only takes me a second, and then it occurs to me that she knows. I go for the gun on my end table, but she stops me. Rushes at me, grabbing my hair. I cry out as she hauls me back, snapping a kick into my chest. I fall back, and she is on me. She grabs one of the pillows off the bed, knocking me to the ground. She tries to suffocate me._

_I choke and fight for breath. I struggle, but she has me held fast. She says something about how my acting almost worked, but I slipped up – how she suspected that I was acting from the first time we met._

_My body goes limp. She moves the pillow, loosening her grip on my arms. Once I am sure I can move fast enough, I throw her off me. I stand and grab the gun. But, I know what will happen if I stay._

_So, rather than killing her outright and ending this whole mess before it really starts, I turn around. I run. Out the door and down to the end of the hall, out the emergency exit and down the stairwell. The alarm blares behind me, and I know Lauren will give chase._

_I run._

OOOOO

When I awoke, I was completely out of breath. It was another flashback. Only this one… I coughed, feeling the pillow over my face. All of a sudden, the part of my dream therapy – where I fought Lauren and she suffocated me with a sheet of plastic – made sense. It confused me because it didn't seem like a memory, even though the doctor assured me that it was. She tried to kill me.

"Hey." I turned, looking over at Vaughn. He sat up a little, looking concerned. "Are you all right?" I nodded a little, swallowing thickly.

I _knew_. I knew that Lauren worked for the Covenant. She and I met while working for my mother. I knew she worked for them, and that they sent her to marry Vaughn as a mission – to get into the CIA. I knew it for at least a few months before the doctor erased my memories.

And I didn't tell him.

"Was it another flashback?" he questioned. I told him about the one from before – the one about knowing my mother was the head of the Covenant and wondering why I never told Kendall that. Now it made sense. If I told Kendall, the CIA would have gone after her. She would know I wasn't really brainwashed, and kill me.

"Yeah," I answered. "It was… Right before I escaped the Covenant. Before I had my memory erased."

"What happened?" he asked. I sighed, shaking my head a little. My breathing returned to normal, but I could still feel Lauren pinning me down, trying to smother me with a pillow. "Was it Simon again?"

"No," I replied. I paused for a moment. I had to say _something_. "It was… Lauren." I watched Vaughn's expression go from confused to realization, and then to anger. He looked away, nodding a little.

"You knew she was Covenant."

OOOOO

_It was Lauren._

At first, I didn't understand what Sydney meant. She had some sort of a flashback that involved Lauren – some piece of her missing time that was somehow reawakened by something her mother did. Then, I figured out what she meant. She saw Lauren during the time with the Covenant. Which meant she knew.

"You knew she was Covenant," I stated, nodding a little.

"Vaughn…" I didn't let her finish, getting up from the bed and walking towards the door. I turned back to look at her.

"You knew?" I asked. Sydney didn't respond. "How long?"

"I don't know," she replied. "Maybe a few months."

"A few _months_?" I echoed. "You knew she worked for the Covenant – you knew what her mission was, and you never did anything about it?"

_I woke up in a dream today  
__To the cold of the static  
__And put my cold feet on the floor  
__Forgot all about yesterday  
__Remembering  
__I'm pretending to be where I'm not anymore_

"Vaughn, it's not like it was all that simple," she answered, protesting. "I did what I did to keep them from killing us _both_. If I came to Los Angeles, my mother would know that she didn't brainwash me."

"You didn't even tell Kendall?"

"What would have happened if I did? Lauren would be exposed-"

"She almost _killed _me!" I shouted. Sydney swallowed thickly, not responding.

_A little taste of hypocrisy  
And I'm left in the wake  
Of the mistakes  
Slow to react  
Even though you're so close to me  
You're still so distant  
And I can't bring you back _

For a moment, neither of us said anything. I looked down at the floor, shaking my head in disbelief. Sydney _knew _about Lauren, and she didn't say anything. I married a traitor – someone sent on a mission to steal secrets from the United States Government – and she _knew _that, and chose not to say anything.

"I'm sorry," she finally said quietly. "You _know _I would tell you if I had that option. If it was safe to tell you or to tell Kendall, I would have done it – you _know _that!"

"And it was safe not to tell me?" I shot back.

_It's true the way I feel  
__Was promised by your face  
__The sound of your voice  
__Painted on my memories  
__Even if you're not with me  
__I'm with you_

I knew that getting angry with her wouldn't accomplish anything. But… Ever since I learned that my wife was a completely different person than I thought she was – not only did she lie, but she also _betrayed _me – I struggled with a whole array of emotions. Fury, pain, disgust, anguish… It hurt me to know that Sydney knew Lauren's true allegiance, and didn't say anything to anyone. She erased her own memories, and so much went wrong because of one small thing she could have fixed, but _chose _not to.

"Vaughn?"

"You could have said something. You could have told Kendall, you could have… God, Sydney, you should have _said _something!"

_You, now I see, you're keeping everything inside  
With you  
You, now I see, even when I close my eyes _

"And what?" she asked, now angry as well. She got to her feet, voice rising as she spoke. "Watch them kill you? That's what would have happened! Would you rather I _let_ that happen? God, I probably knew when I saw you with her that night – after I got away from them. The only reason I didn't say anything was because they were _there_! Vaughn, if I disappeared on them and then you found out Lauren was Covenant, they would have _killed_ you!"

I didn't respond.

_I hit you and you hit me back  
We fall to the floor  
The rest of the day stands still  
Fine line between this and that  
When things go wrong  
I pretend that the past isn't real _

"You don't have _any _idea what it was like for me! To be kidnapped, to be _tortured_ for nine months by my own _mother_! I spent two _years _of my life pretending to be someone else. You think that was _easy_ for me?" she snapped.

"Don't try and make this about you," I shot back. She recoiled instantly as if I hit her. "When you came back, you accused me of giving up on us. What else was I supposed to do? I stood on your front lawn and watched your house burn – I watched you _die_, right in front of me. I moved on because it almost _killed_ me, and you could have stopped that at any time, and you _didn't_."

_I'm trapped in this memory  
__And I'm left in the wake of the mistakes  
__Slow to react  
__And even though you're close to me  
__You're still so distant  
__And I can't bring you back_

"I'm sorry," Sydney stated, tears in her eyes. "I didn't know what to do! I don't know what my mother _wants_ from me. I'm sorry that I had to keep it away from her, whatever it was. I didn't mean for that to mess everything else up, but that's what happens sometimes. Maybe keeping that from her was more important than risking telling you the truth about Lauren – I don't _know_!"

"Maybe keeping that from her is more important than I am."

_It's true, the way I feel  
__Was promised by your face  
__The sound of your voice  
__Painted on my memories  
__Even if you're not with me  
__I'm with you_

"You know that's not true," Sydney said, looking hurt.

"What else am I supposed to think?" I snapped. "You knew what this would do to me, and you let that happen to keep some secret from Irina Derevko. So, yeah. Maybe that is more important to you."

_You, now I see, you're keeping everything inside  
__With you  
__You, now I see, even when I close my eyes_

"I didn't _let _this happen!" Sydney protested. "You think it was an easy decision to make? Going to Los Angeles, seeing you and Lauren and knowing who she really was, but knowing if I told you that the Covenant operatives parked outside your house would kill you, and me for telling you? I had to take that chance, and I'm sorry it turned out this way, but you cannot _blame _me for that!"

I just shook my head.

_No  
I won't let you control my fate  
__While I'm holding the weight of the world  
__On my conscience  
__No  
__I won't just sit here and wait  
__While you weigh your options  
__You're making a fool of me_

"Maybe your dad is right," I finally stated, lowering my voice. "Agents shouldn't have personal relationships because it creates problems. There are too many questions, too many stupid risks we're willing to take."

"You don't believe that," Sydney stated. I looked at her for a long moment, tears running down her face. "You can't give up now just because of this."

"I can't do this anymore."

_No  
__You didn't dare try to say that you don't care  
__And solemnly swear  
__Not to follow me there  
__No  
__It ain't like me to beg on my knees  
__Oh please, oh baby please  
__That's not how I'm doing things_

Even as the words came out of my mouth, I was surprised to hear them. Sydney's mouth practically fell open, and she stepped back a little. I took a shaky breath, running a hand up over my face and through my hair.

"No… You said, it was worth trying, just to see…" I nodded a little. "You're saying…"

"Sydney… I can't do this," I stated again.

_No I'm not upset  
__No I'm not angry  
__I know love is love  
__Love, but sometimes it pains me  
__Never without you  
__I'll always be with you  
__You'll never forget me  
__I'm keeping you with me_

"I can't spend all my time wondering if you're going to be up front with me," I continued. "We've both been through a lot, and kept things from each other, made stupid compromises and risks…"

"You're right – we've seen a lot. But, we're still here, aren't we? Doesn't that mean _anything _to you? The fact that we're still here? Giving up is letting them win."

"Maybe they already have."

_No, I won't let you take me to the end of my rope  
__While you burn it and torture my soul  
__No  
__No I'm not your puppet  
__And no, no  
__No I won't let you go_

Another heavy silence filled the room. Finally, Sydney nodded a little, looking anywhere but my face. Her entire body shook. And, as much as I wanted to step forward and apologize, pull her into my arms and say I didn't mean it… I couldn't do it.

_I couldn't do it._

_No matter how far we've come  
__I can't wait to see tomorrow  
__No matter how far we've come, I…  
__I can't wait to see tomorrow  
__With you_

"I have to…" She didn't finish her sentence. She turned away, walking into the bathroom and closing the door. I closed my eyes, holding back tears. Then, with one last look at the closed door, I left.

_You, now I see, you're keeping everything inside  
__With you  
__You, now I see, even when I close my eyes_


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **derevkobristow-spawn**, **Eyghon**, **vademecum**, and **Tine** for reviews!! :-) I'm glad everyone like the last chapter, and Happy New Year to everyone as well! As for what's going to happen in the next few chapters, you'll just have to read and find out!! :-)

OOOOO

I didn't sleep. In fact, I spent the entire night alternately crying and storming around my apartment, cursing and nearly throwing things. How could Vaughn blame me for the choices I made over a year ago? Choices I didn't even _remember _until now. Maybe I did the wrong thing by not telling him about Lauren, but I thought saving his _life _was more important than informing him that his wife was a traitor. I understood his anger, sure, but to blame me for what she put him through…

Finally, it was morning. The last thing I wanted to do was return to the Rotunda and try to make sense out of what Will told everyone the night before. While I looked forward to seeing him and having a chance to talk to him, I was so _angry _with Vaughn that I couldn't even think straight.

And I was angry with myself. I didn't know why I never said anything, to Kendall at the very least. Why I didn't tell him about my mother being the head of the Covenant, why I didn't tell him about Lauren.

I didn't know what my mother wanted from me. Why did she inject that compound into me? Make me remember all the horrible things that happened in my missing two years? Was it just to hurt me, or did she want something more out of it?

I went to the Rotunda. Dixon and my father were already there, and Will arrived shortly after I did. Several other agents were milling around, but there was no sign of Vaughn.

"All right," Dixon said, glancing at his watch. "Let's get started."

"What about Vaughn?" I questioned.

"He called this morning, he requested some time off," Dixon replied, looking at me curiously, as if he thought I already knew that. "He didn't mention anything to you?"

"No," I replied. I glanced over at my father, who shrugged a little. _Vaughn said something about my father being right_, I suddenly remembered. _I have to talk to him after the briefing_.

"We don't have any leads yet," Dixon continued. "Analysis worked on an options paper all night, and came up with nothing. We have no idea where the Sphere of Life is, or where Derevko and the others went looking for it. It's a possibility that they might already have it in their possession."

"Where were they last?" Will questioned.

"Zurich," Dixon answered. Will nodded a little, but apparently didn't have anything to offer.

"And without the correct equation from Nadia, we have no idea where they went," I stated.

"Exactly," Dixon replied. He sighed, sitting down and shaking his head. "We've exhausted all our resources." Before he could continue, another man stepped in, looking at Dixon.

"Director Dixon, we've got a call for your routed through a civilian landline," the other agent stated.

"Take a message," Dixon replied, looking annoyed.

"Sir, it's Julian Sark."

For a long moment, no one said anything. I looked from Dixon to my father, who seemed just as surprised as the rest of us. Why would Sark be calling to speak to Dixon?

"Patch him through on the speakerphone," Dixon stated immediately. The other agent nodded, leaving the room. I looked back at Dixon in question.

"What does Sark want?" I asked.

"Surely he knows the risks he faces calling us over a traceable landline," my father stated. I glanced over at Will, seeing a shadow of anger in his eyes. Sark was, after all, pretty directly responsible for Francie's death, and everything Will went through with Allison Doren.

"Nevertheless, this could be the lead we're looking for," Dixon stated.

"Or it's a trap," I threw in. Dixon nodded a little, and then pressed the 'answer' button on the phone sitting beside him.

"Mister Sark?" he asked.

"Director Dixon," Sark's voice answered. "I'm sure you weren't expecting a call from me anytime in the near future."

"You could say that," Dixon answered.

"I wanted to apologize for the confusion in Zurich. I understand everything worked out, and Agent Bristow returned safely to the CIA?" Sark asked. "I didn't expect Derevko to have such a task force accompany her to the meet."

"What is the purpose of this phone call?" Dixon questioned, not acknowledging Sark's seeming 'small talk'.

"As you know, I am currently working with Derevko and Mister Sloane once again. I assure you, it's not something I intended. So, I called because I would like to cooperate."

"_Cooperate_?" I spat out before I could stop myself. Dixon shot me a look.

"Ah, so I am to understand I'm on speakerphone?" Sark asked, obviously amused at hearing my sudden outburst. Dixon shook his head, sighing in annoyance. "Yes, Agent Bristow. I wish to provide the CIA with information about our operations. Information that could be very useful to stopping them."

"Why the sudden change of heart?" Dixon questioned.

"My reasons are my own," Sark answered. "Now, I'm sure you've already got a location on this telephone, and a number. I'll return in twelve hours – call me with your answer. Of course, you could send a task force to take me into custody, once again, but I assure you it won't do you any good."

With that, Sark hung up the phone.

The four of us stayed in the debrief for a good two hours, trying to determine whether or not to trust Sark. While I agreed that he might be able to give us information that we couldn't get anywhere else, I still didn't think trusting him was a good idea. I never knew what Sark's aims were, and he could be up to just about anything. However, the argument that Sark might have some sinister motive was outshined by the fact that he could tell us where Derevko was when no one else knew, and Dixon started making plans to contact him in ten hours.

I followed my father out of the room, telling him I needed to talk to him and leading him off towards the side of the room.

"I agree with you about Sark, but there doesn't seem to be any other way to find out where Sloane and your mother went once they left Zurich," he stated, shaking his head a little. "For the time being-"

"Dad, I get that. Dixon can contact Sark, and I'll keep an eye on him to make sure he's not up to something," I replied. "I wanted to ask you about something else."

"Dixon told me that Vaughn asked for some time off this morning," he replied, seeing where I was going with my statement. "I assumed you already knew that. I'm sorry. But, considering what he's just been through, it's entirely normal that he would want a little time away from the agency."

"Did you say something to him?" I questioned. My father looked confused, evidently not understanding what I meant. "When you went to Palermo. What did you say to him?"

"Why do you ask?" he countered.

"Dad… If you said _anything_… I need to know," I stated. He sighed, looking away for a moment and then back at me.

"I told him I didn't agree with the compromises the two of you were willing to make for each other. That they were stupid and reckless and were precisely why the CIA frowns on agents having personal relationships," he finally answered.

_So that's where all of that came from_, I realized. _All of the things Vaughn said last night about risks and the dangers we faced… That was what my father said to him._

"Why? Is something wrong?" he asked. I swallowed thickly, looking down so he didn't see the tears in my eyes. I shook my head.

"It's fine. I have to go," I finally said. Without letting him say anything more, I turned and walked away.

OOOOO

I couldn't stay in Los Angeles.

I called Dixon at quarter after six the next morning, explaining that I needed to take some time off. I made some excuse about how going to Palermo and seeing Lauren's body was very difficult for me, and apologized for waiting this long to ask for time away from the agency. He said he understood, and would ask Doctor Barnett to speak with me when I returned.

Really, I just wanted a way to run away from Sydney. We both kept secrets. We made compromises and there were dangerous and stupid things we did in the past for each other that – if we weren't such good agents – would have gotten our field ratings removed years ago. If we weren't such a good team, we would have gotten re-assigned almost immediately after she started working for the CIA.

I wanted it to work out. I wanted things to be the way they were _before_, but that wasn't going to happen. Things were different now. _We _were different. Things happened during the two years she was missing – things that neither one of us would ever forget or get over.

It wasn't just that I was angry with her for never telling me the truth about Lauren, before she had her memories erased. I _was _angry, but I understood _why _she did it. If she exposed Lauren, the Covenant would know their attempt at brainwashing her failed. They would kill her. If she came directly to me, they would kill us both. Granted, there would be consequences either way, but that was a risk she needed to take, and one she had to take alone.

I couldn't pretend to be the same person I was. Neither could Sydney. I didn't even know if the people we became could have the same kind of relationship as the ones we were before. And trying to figure it out could be harder on both of us.

Finally, I decided I needed something to get my mind off of everything. I returned my attention to the dilemma at the Rotunda. We needed a way to find Irina Derevko – to see if the Covenant already had Rambaldi's Sphere of Life. I also had to find a way to confirm whether or not Jack Bristow really _was _a Follower of Rambaldi. I needed a reliable source of information – someone that knew the Covenant's plans as well as could give me information on the Followers of Rambaldi. Someone with connections I could use to further my investigation.

It didn't take long for a name to come to me. A high-ranking operative inside the Covenant who would have everything I needed. And, someone that would provide me with a sense of personal justice.

Olivia Reed.

OOOOO

Dixon, Will, my father and I all sat in the conference room at five to seven, prepped to call Sark back and tell him the CIA wanted to negotiate a truce. We would set forth our terms, and Sark would start feeding us information.

I still didn't know why he decided to contact us all of a sudden. He wouldn't just choose to share Intel with the CIA. There was some kind of bargain involved – I knew that much. But what? What could the CIA possibly have that the Covenant needed?

"All right," Dixon said, looking up at the clock. "I'm making the call." He put the line on speakerphone, dialing the number that analysis had from the trace. It rang once, and Sark picked up.

"Director Dixon," he said. "I wasn't sure you'd call. This is a rather pleasant surprise."

"We've drawn up some terms for this to work. If you truly wish to cooperate, you should have no problems following them," Dixon replied, holding a list of the terms all of us managed to agree to give Sark. He didn't say anything for a moment.

"Of course," Sark finally answered. "I'm listening."

"You will share information directly with a contact at the CIA. Any information that you cannot relay directly will be dead-dropped to a secure location of our choosing. You will not ask questions of our missions or objectives, and any attempt at sabotage or misleading this agency places your name on our 'shoot to kill' list. Do you understand?" Dixon explained.

"Yes," Sark replied immediately. "Now, if you'll permit me, I do have one request of my own."

"What is it?" Dixon asked.

"I wish to collaborate directly with Agent Sydney Bristow." Dixon looked up at me. I wasn't surprised – when Sark was in CIA custody, he asked to speak directly with me. Either he wanted a familiar face, or the Covenant needed something, something specifically from me.

My first inclination was to say 'absolutely not' and leave it at that. But, if I did that, I'd never find my mother. I would never figure out what all of this meant. So, I took a deep breath.

"All right," I agreed. "You've got a deal."

"Excellent," Sark replied. "Then I propose a meet. Some secure location, no doubt, as I don't fancy spreading delicate information over the telephone."

"Fine. We'll have one of our contacts at your location give you time and place," Dixon stated.

"Fair enough. Until then." He hung up the phone. Dixon sighed, hanging up as well.

"Are you sure this is the best idea?" my father asked, looking directly at me.

"No," I answered matter-of-factly. "I think my mother gave me that compound in Zurich because I know something they need to either find or use this Sphere of Life. Sark has contacted us because he wants whatever that is, and once he has it, he'll either kill me or all of them will disappear again.

"But, this is the only way we're going to find out where they went. We've tried everything else, and there's been no result. So, as far as I can see, we don't have a choice," I continued.

"What is it that Sark wants from you?" Will asked, looking confused.

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I guess we'll just hope I don't remember until we know where they are, and what it is they want from me."

Before we could continue, the phone rang. Dixon answered it, not putting it on speaker this time so the rest of us couldn't listen in. He gave me a warning about watching myself a little next time, after what happened that morning with Sark.

"Yes?" he asked, pausing while the person on the other end explained something. He glanced over at me, looking shocked, and then looked away again. "Of course. No, let him in." He hung up the phone. "That was the guard at the parking garage. Apparently, Agent Vaughn just arrived. He says he has a lead we might want to pursue."

OOOOO

The four of us watched from the center room of the Rotunda as a team of US Marshals went into the parking garage. I glanced over at Dixon in question, but he seemed just as confused as I felt, which was no help. When they came back, Vaughn was with them, and they escorted Olivia Reed – Lauren's mother. I saw a black eye and one lip cut and bleeding, and she stared at the back of Vaughn's head the entire time, anger flaring in her eyes. It didn't take an expert on behavioral analysis to realize what happened.

Dixon went to speak with the guards, while my father took Will back to the safe house. I promised Will that I would go and visit him once things settled down, and explain everything he missed, as I could see how confused he was. But, with all of them gone, it did give me the opportunity to talk to Vaughn.

"What happened?" I asked when he came over to where I stood. I glanced over at Olivia, as the Marshals escorted her to the holding cells in the basement of the facility.

"No one here was getting anywhere. We needed someone with knowledge of Covenant operations, so who better than someone that works for them?" Vaughn questioned, eyes cold and emotionless. I rose my eyebrows.

"How did you find her?" I questioned.

"Doesn't matter," he replied, looking away.

"This is why you asked Dixon for time off?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Who cares? I had an idea, now we have a high-ranking Covenant operative in custody, someone that might be able to tell us something about where Derevko is, what their plans are."

"Sark called this morning. He said he wants to cooperate," I stated. Vaughn looked at me in disbelief for a long moment, and then shook his head again.

"You know he's lying," he stated.

"I know. Like you said, we needed a lead. We've already started setting up a protocol and a meeting." He didn't say anything. "Why didn't you present this idea to Dixon?"

"What, and waste three days while he runs it by DOJ and they consider their options, what consequences this will have? We have to track them now, not in a week," Vaughn shot back.

"You can't just go off on a rogue op whenever you get frustrated with protocol," I shot back.

"Why not? Everyone else does." I stepped back, slightly hurt by his remark. He sighed, his features softening for the first time since our argument the night before. "You know I didn't mean it like that."

"No. You did," I answered. "I've been on a number of rogue operations, but I didn't have a _choice_. Most of them, I had support, either from my father or Dixon or someone else in this office. Going off on your own like this is dangerous."

"And letting Derevko and Sloane get away isn't?" he countered. I shook my head.

"Fine. Do what you want." I paused. "Eventually you're going to have to accept what happened with Lauren and move on. You _know_ that."

"I didn't come over here because I needed a lecture, thank you," he snapped. "Excuse me." Before I could protest, he turned and walked away, following the guards to where they took Lauren's mother.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Gils **and **daisyduke947 **for reviews on the last couple of chapters. I imagine I'll get more, but I want to update now so I don't keep everyone waiting until tomorrow! :-) This chapter is more experimentation than anything, and some of the ideas I introduce might change later on. That said, enjoy chapter sixteen!!

OOOOO

_"Julia," a voice speaks to me in the dark. I shoot up out of the bed, going for the knife on the end table. Some instinct suggests that I need it – I need to be ready for anything to walk into that hotel room._

_The light clicks on, and it's my mother. I step back, still wielding the weapon._

_Wait. Why did she call me Julia? If Lauren told her the truth…_

_"I didn't mean to frighten you," she states, stepping further into the room. "Agent Reed said you seemed… Unsettled when you left. I came to make sure everything was all right."_

_I don't respond. I know this is some kind of a ploy, but why? To make me expose myself? Does she know the truth and is just seeing if I falter? Or did Lauren really not mention anything about attempting to kill me?_

_Lauren must know that Irina Derevko is my mother. If she told her the truth, Lauren would be executed for an attempt on my life. Especially considering that I know…_

_I know that code._

_"Of course everything's fine," I snap, my condescending tone falling perfectly into character. I flip my blonde hair back over my shoulder and force myself to calm down. Force my heart to stop racing. She doesn't know the truth, so I cannot lose now. I just have to make it to morning… "Agent Reed and I don't have the best relationship, that's all."_

_"I understand," my mother replies. "She wants to be as good as you."_

_"She can try," I shoot back. She smiles, obviously falling for the arrogant ruse. After all, Julia has every reason to be arrogant. She's the only one that knows where the Rambaldi cube is. Where the number is that they want…_

_Which is why I have plans for tomorrow. I've already made the disc, sent it to Kendall… He knows not to tell me anything about any of this._

_Granted, I should have told him more. But I can't. If I do, they'll have me killed._

_"I need some sleep. I'll come in tomorrow morning," I state. My mother nods._

_"Bring the artifact with you," she orders. I nod in agreement. I won't show up. Who cares whether or not I agree to give her what she wants?_

_"Of course," I reply. She nods a little, and turns to go._

_"I'll speak with Agent Reed," she states as she goes back to the door. I lower my knife, but don't put it down. I won't set it down until I know she's gone. I probably won't even stay here. I'll wait for an hour, maybe, and then disappear again. I don't need to take anything with me – just the money for the doctor tomorrow._

_Someone on the other side of the door opens it. Irina smiles at him, brushing past and walking down the hall. He steps in to close the door, looking at me for a moment. This time, seeing this face, I _am _shocked. I know this face, despite the long hair and the beard._

_It is my father._

OOOOO

This time, when I awoke from my flashback, I screamed.

It took me a moment to calm down. I took a few deep breaths, shaking uncontrollably. My _father_. He knew where I was. He knew exactly what happened to me. My mother didn't play him – she didn't need to. He was _there_ the _entire time_.

I dropped my head into my hands, and for a long moment, I just cried.

My own _father _was the one to betray me after all. He ran things the entire time. The board members that came in to speak with me about Project Prodigy probably knew about the whole thing… He grew his hair out and grew the beard to make me believe he really stayed locked up in solitary all that time, and then Lindsey let him do whatever he wanted. If he _was_ in solitary, no one would ever see him to know if he actually stayed locked in that cell once they escorted him inside. He and Lindsey worked with my mother the whole time, working to… To _what_? What did they _want _from me?

I got out of bed, dressing quickly. I didn't care that it was almost four in the morning. I was going to the Rotunda, and I would find my father. I had to confront him – I had to know what he wanted.

And then I would have him arrested.

I drove to the Rotunda, trying to sort out my dream. I saw him right before I went to the doctor to have my memories erased. Again, I found myself wondering why I didn't tell Kendall _any _of this. Why hadn't I told him about Lauren, about my mother or my father? Why?

The code.

I knew something that the Covenant wanted. My mother injected me with the Rambaldi compound to bring back my memories, trying to get to that code. Whatever it was, it did something… Something I couldn't give to them, no matter _what _happened. I must have known, and I didn't say anything because I knew I couldn't risk them finding that code.

But why not let them kill me?

Because I was the only one that could stop them.

I arrived at the Rotunda a little after five in the morning. And I was glad to see my father's car already parked in the garage. I didn't know if he came back right after taking Will to the safe house, or if he just arrived. I didn't care. I knew what I needed to do. I would tell him exactly what I knew, and then give that information over to counter-terrorism. The NSC, the people working under the Patriot Act… It didn't matter. Someone that would bring him to justice for what he did.

I walked into the building, completely confident. I saw my father with Dixon, pouring over some maps and trying to decide on an appropriate location for the meet with Sark. They both looked up as I strode over to the table, eyes locked on my father.

"We need to talk," I stated, my tone hard and cold. He looked back down at the maps.

"It can wait," he replied. "We've got to settle on a location within the next hour."

"No," I replied. He looked up again, confused. "Now."

Before he could protest, I walked off into the corner area. Reluctantly, he followed me. Once we were in the small corner, I whirled on him, anger filling my voice and burning in my eyes.

"What the _hell _did you think you would do?" I snapped. "Did you think I wasn't going to find out what you were really up to all that time?"

"Sydney-" he protested, reaching out to rest a hand on my arm. I didn't let him, jerking away when I saw what he wanted, and cutting him off before he could say anything more.

"You _lied_ to me!" I stated, trying to keep my voice down so Dixon didn't realize what was happening. "I came back from Hong Kong and you _pretended _you didn't know anything – that you were locked up for working with mom."

"You don't understand what's happening here," he threw in, trying to cut off my tirade.

"No. You've done a pretty good job of keeping it from me, haven't you?" I shot back. He sighed, shaking his head a little. "You weren't trying to find me – you knew where I was the whole time."

"Let me explain-" Again, I interrupted.

"You're _Covenant_!" I shouted outright this time. My father sighed again, clenching his jaw and looking at me as if he was annoyed.

"Don't be absurd," he shot back.

"Then why were you working with them?" He shook his head, reaching down to the sleeve of his shirt. He pulled it back, pulling his watch off and showing me the inside of his left wrist. I saw a tattoo, a circle inside two angled lines.

The Eye of Rambaldi.

My eyes widened. I looked from the tattoo on his wrist to his face, and then back at the tattoo.

"But… That would mean…"

"Yes," he stated with a sigh. "I'm a Follower of Rambaldi." I shook my head, not believing what he just told me.

"But that's impossible!" I stated. "No. You can't be… You were never interested in any of his artifacts, you never…" But, as I began to think about it, it made sense. By acting uninterested, he fooled everyone. And, because I never suspected him to show any interest in Rambaldi's artifacts, I never questioned why all the missions he sent me on had something to do with the philosopher. The prophecy stated _I _would be the one to collect the artifacts. He needed me to do it.

Because no one else could.

"Why keep this hidden?" I finally asked, as he put his watch back on. I never wondered why he always wore it, even on missions. Even if it was broken, he always had it on until he got it fixed. Of course, he needed something to hide that tattoo. So no one would know the truth.

"I have my reasons, and you are far from prepared to know any of them," he replied matter-of-factly. I didn't respond. Honestly, I couldn't _think _of anything to say. My father, the last person I expected to be interested in Rambaldi, turned out to be one of his _followers_. Finally, I looked up at him again.

"I know you conspired to keep me away from the CIA – to have me brainwashed, whether you thought it would work or not. I'm taking this to the proper authorities," I finally said.

"Do you know how many people in this agency are a part of this?" he asked, eyebrows risen in question. "It would be very difficult for you to find an ally, should you turn against me."

"Is that a _threat_?" I asked, disbelieving.

"Every word," he answered. I felt a pain in my chest like a truck just hit me. "Now, I have to get back to work. I advise you to keep this quiet, or I assure you, you'll only make things more difficult." With that, he pushed past me and left the room.

I leaned back against the wall, too shaken to support my own weight. My father… He played me. From minute one. He _used _me. And now he threatened me, to convince me not to pursue this information because I didn't know who else was involved in his plan.

Finally, I reasoned that I couldn't do anything now. I couldn't go against my father. I had no idea how his organization worked, how he networked it, and trying to fight him would either get me arrested or killed – probably both. So, trying to force his blatant threats and betrayals into the back of my mind, I left the room, going back to Dixon to spec out a mission to meet Sark.

OOOOO

The meet was set for an industrial complex in the middle of Russia. Dixon wanted somewhere secure, but also somewhere that we could have several agents there as backup in case anything happened. I imagined Sark had a plan of his own, and insisted on taking a weapon. Of course, my father didn't think it was a good idea, but I wasn't prepared to listen to him at this point. After what I learned about his true loyalties… I wasn't going to take anything he said at face value _ever _again.

At six, I was on a plane for Russia. My father didn't come along, and Dixon sensed that something happened between the two of us, and suggested that my father go and speak with Will. As much as I wanted to stop him from making contact with _anyone _I knew, I realized that trying to do so would only anger him further. At the time, I was his only problem. I didn't need to go making that worse.

I met with a CIA contact in Russia, once I landed at the airport that drove me directly to the warehouse. When I entered, Sark was already there. He smiled a little at seeing me, obviously amused with his plan.

_Remember_, I reminded myself. _He wants the code. He's going to try and get it out of you, even though you don't know what it is._

"Agent Bristow," Sark greeted with a nod. "Wonderful to see you, as always. I trust your flight was pleasant?"

"I'm not here for small talk, although I'm sure the location had you fooled," I deadpanned, looking around at the rusty warehouse. I went in on my own; though I knew there were at least half a dozen CIA operatives outside, ready to storm the place at the first sign of trouble. "Let's make this simple. You have information I need. You give it to me, and you don't get shot."

"And I thought we were long past the baseless threats," Sark stated with one eyebrow risen. "I'm disappointed."

"Where are Sloane and Irina Derevko?" I questioned.

"They're not that far from here actually," Sark replied, taking a seat. "Not this particular location, of course, but in Russia. There's a facility, similar to another you and Agent Vaughn infiltrated not long ago. Somewhere capable of analyzing the Rambaldi artifact."

"The Sphere of Life?" I questioned. Sark nodded. "So the Covenant already has it?"

"Yes. Your sister led Mister Sloane right to it," Sark replied. "It's undergoing analysis right now." He pulled a small folder out of his jacket pocket, handing it to me. Inside were several photographs of the sphere. It was rather large, constructed of some kind of strong metal, like the cube. It was also perfectly round, and had a small panel on the top.

Inside was a screen with several numbers.

"How something of that technology was constructed in the fifteenth century is quite the mystery, as I'm sure you can imagine," Sark explained, nodding to the screen. "It requires a six-digit code in order to open or activate the sphere."

I didn't reply. A six-digit code.

I knew the code.

"Of course, there are… Numerous ways for us to go about this," Sark stated, leaning forward menacingly. "Either you give me the code of your own free will, or you will give it to us under a certain amount of duress."

"I have CIA support outside – the first time you _try _anything-" Sark interrupted.

"I'm sure," he said with a grin. I heard the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked behind me. When I turned, I saw Nadia. "Of course, they won't dare take us down if we threaten your life."

"You can't kill me," I stated.

"It's a six-digit code, Agent Bristow. There are only so many possibilities," Sark answered. "Your cooperation simply makes it easier on all of us." I stood, refusing to listen to him. I turned around, seeing that Nadia aimed the gun at the back of my head.

"You can't seriously consider working for them," I stated, shaking my head a little.

"I can do whatever I want," she replied with a malicious grin. It struck me how she looked like our mother when she smiled like that. "That's the best part of all of this."

"Nadia-" she didn't let me finish.

"Sark thinks that we need you to give us the code," she stated, looking over at Sark, who evidently decided to stay out of it since Nadia had the gun. "I don't agree."

"What do you mean?" I questioned, suddenly frightened.

"My father told me everything. The prophecy… How if I let you go, you're going to kill me," she stated. She shrugged a little, showing no sign of remorse for what she was about to do. "So, there's only one way for me to make sure that never happens."

"Nadia, don't do this," I protested. My heart pounded in my ears. My own sister planned to shoot me.

"And the only way for that to happen…? Is if I kill you first," she stated. Before I could say anything more, I heard the deafening crack of the gun going off. Almost instantly, there was a burning pain in my chest. I fought to breathe, to no avail. My vision blurred, and I put a hand to my chest, feeling blood run out over my fingers. I shot one last look at her smirking face.

Then, I collapsed.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Tine, Aravilui Nororiel, derevkobristow-spawn** and **Gils **for reviewing! Seriously, I'm glad everyone likes this so much, even if some of the things I do don't make much sense! :-) Hope everyone likes this chapter. The song lyrics I use are "So Cold" by Breaking Benjamin. (And, as a side note, listening to the song while reading adds to the atmosphere, and you can get a different feeling for the first section of this chapter by listening to the regular version of the song than by listening to the acoustic version. Just if you're curious!)

**The Hunt  
**EPISODE 4.05

I didn't go back to the Rotunda for almost two days. I needed to try and sort through whatever the _hell _was happening. With Sydney, with Lauren's mother… With _me_. I knew Sydney was right, and I went after Olivia Reed because she was Lauren's mother, not because she could give us information, though that helped.

Going off on rogue ops was dangerous – I knew that. But, how could the CIA, the Department of Justice, whoever the hell ran things anymore, just sit around and ponder these decisions like they didn't have any kind of an impact on other people's lives like it didn't matter to them. We needed a lead, so I found one. Couldn't it just be that simple?

But, of course it couldn't. I knew that. Didn't make accepting it any easier, though.

When I got to the Rotunda, I knew something was up. The place was full of agents and analysts, people running in practically every direction. Several others were on phones, talking in a whole array of different languages. I glanced around for a moment, confused. There weren't normally this many people at the Rotunda, unless something big happened.

Finally, I found Weiss.

"Weiss, what the heck is going on?" I questioned my friend, looking at him in confusion. He stopped, staring at me for a moment. "Uh, hello? Did someone die?"

"Mike… Where the hell were you, I've been paging you for hours!" he snapped. "What's going on – did you find her?"

"Find who?" I asked, even more confused. Weiss stared at me for another moment, and then his eyes widened in shock. "What the hell happened?"

_Crowded streets are cleared away  
__One by one  
__Hollow heroes separate  
__As they run_

"You mean… You don't _know_?" he asked, shocked.

"No, I don't, now could you please tell me what's going on?" I asked again, frustrated with him now. He sighed deeply, shaking his head.

"Oh, man… Something went wrong at the meet with Sark in Russia," he started, his voice pained and quiet. "We had CIA support outside the building, but the Covenant must have anticipated that. Six agents, shot and killed. Execution-style.

"And… Dixon and I were listening on Sydney's wire. There was a gunshot inside the building, and… The only voices we heard after that were Sark and Nadia," he stopped, apparently letting that sink in for a moment. I just stared at him for a minute.

"What are you saying?" I finally asked.

_You're so cold keep your  
__Hand in mine  
__Wise men wonder while  
__Strong men die_

"Nadia and Sark had a van waiting. They took Sydney… We tracked them down, they got away, but the van was empty," Weiss continued. He shook his head again, apparently having trouble believing what he was telling me. "Dixon thinks they dumped her body somewhere."

I looked away. Her _body_. Weiss said… I took a couple of breaths, and then shook my head, not believing him.

"No," I stated. "No, there's no way. They didn't…" I couldn't even bring myself to say the words. "They must have met with another team, stopped at some kind of holding facility…"

"They didn't," Weiss replied. I closed my eyes, pressing a hand to my face for a moment. My hand shook. I swallowed thickly. I wouldn't believe him. I _couldn't_ believe him.

Sydney was _not _dead.

_No_.

_Show me how it ends  
__It's all right  
__Show me how defenseless  
__You really are  
__Satisfied and  
__Empty inside  
__That's all right  
__Let's give this another try_

"I'm sorry," Weiss finally said. "I thought you already knew, that they called you in on the task force last night… Why weren't you answering your pages? I've been trying you _all _morning."

"This…" I wanted to tell him there was no way this was happening. They were wrong, they _had _to be wrong. There was no _way_ this could happen. Not again.

"We've been searching all day, but there's nothing."

_If you find your family  
__Don't you cry  
__In this land of make believe  
__Dead and dry_

"Teams have been looking everywhere, the route they took… So far, they haven't found anything. There's no sign of her. And, let's face it, if they let her go, she would have made contact by now," Weiss stated.

"That doesn't mean… You're wrong," I finally stated, shaking my head.

"Man, you're shaking. Okay, look, I know this doesn't make sense, but-" I didn't let him finish.

"I'm gonna find her," I said simply. "Get me on a plane."

_You're so cold but you  
__Feel alive  
__Lay your hands on me  
__One last time_

"Look, that's not gonna be easy. All right? Director Newman is losing his head over the whole Olivia Reed thing, and that makes sense. That's the kind of thing that ends in retaliation against the CIA, you know?" Weiss asked. "Besides that, what are you expecting to do?"

"Does it _matter_?" I snapped. "Obviously, no one here is doing their job, or this wouldn't have happened in the first place!"

"I don't want to piss you off, but you need to calm down," Weiss stated, reaching out to try and get me to relax. I shook him off, shaking my head.

"No," I stated. "I'm not going to calm down until I know she's okay." He didn't reply.

_Show me how it ends  
__It's all right  
__Show me how defenseless  
__You really are  
__Satisfied and  
__Empty inside  
__That's all right  
__Let's give this another try_

"She might not _be _okay," he finally stated after pausing for a long moment. I didn't respond right away. He really believed she was dead. I wouldn't listen. I _couldn't_.

"I'm going to Russia," I replied. "Whether you help me or not, I _really_ don't care."

"All right," Weiss finally agreed, seeing that he wasn't going to convince me otherwise. I was _not _backing off. I didn't care if Director Newman had me _arrested_ when I got back – I was going. "But, we're going to need to hurry."

I nodded in agreement.

_Show me how it ends  
__It's all right  
__Show me how defenseless  
__You really are  
__Satisfied and  
__Empty inside  
__That's all right  
__Let's give this another try_

"Okay. I'll get us on a flight to Russia – probably the charter jet," Weiss said, already trying to plan his next move.

"Whatever, as long as it's fast," I stated.

"Yeah, I get that," Weiss replied. I started off. "Hey, wait, where are you going?"

_It's all right  
__It's all right_

"I'm going to deal with Newman."

OOOOO

It took Weiss under half an hour to secure a flight on the CIA charter jet to Russia. I spoke to Director Newman, explaining that, yes, I compromised my standing within the CIA, and I understood that I faced severe consequences for my actions. That being said, he let me walk out of his office, wishing me luck with finding Sydney.

At least _someone _was being supportive.

The whole time we sat on the plane, I couldn't force myself to think of anything but Sydney. Last time we spoke, I snapped at her and walked away. Was that how it would all end? Did she die somewhere in Russia, at the hands of Sark and her own sister, thinking I hated her for something that wasn't even her fault?

_I can't let this happen_, I thought, millions of other emotions and thoughts racing around in my head. Anger because I was too stupid to listen to her in the first place, fear that we wouldn't find her, or that we would find her and she would be… _I'm _not_ losing her again. _Not now

Weiss didn't say anything on the flight. He seemed anxious, probably wondering what would happen and what we would do when we landed in Russia. He contacted Marshall, and we knew where the van went – it's exact path through the countryside until the CIA team intercepted it and drove Sark and Nadia away.

And found the van. The _empty _van.

Finally, we landed in Russia. A few of the CIA agents already there met us at the airport, taking us right to the place that Sydney met Sark. They gave us weapons and gear, and a vehicle, stating that they were glad to have some help.

"Okay," one of the agents, a woman named Katie Ferguson, started. She unrolled a map across the table in the center of the warehouse. "This is where we are," she stated, pointing to a small silver pin in the map. "The van left here, followed this road for twenty-three minutes, and we apprehended them here." She showed us the road, and the green pin where they apprehended the van. "Most of this terrain is rugged, dirt roads and deep forest. Which is why we're having a hard time locating the-"

"Agent Bristow," Weiss interrupted. Agent Ferguson looked up at him, and then over at me. Apparently, from the way my eyes remained locked on the map, my jaw clenched, she got the point.

"Right," she corrected. "Agent Bristow."

A pause.

"Okay. Let's move," Weiss finally stated, breaking the tension that seemed to have filled the room. Agent Ferguson nodded, going off with her partner and leaving Weiss and I to take one of the black sedans and go off on our own.

"Thank you," I finally said to Weiss, once we were in the car and on the way down the road.

"No problem," he replied, not looking over at me. We drove slowly up the road, looking for any sign that the van stopped somewhere, or any sign of Sydney.

There was nothing.

It took almost forty minutes to get halfway down the road. We had flashlights out both sides of the car, aimed at the trees. There were countless other agents walking around, searching through bushes and along the road.

Finally, I noticed something.

"Stop here," I told Weiss. He stopped the car immediately, barely putting it in park before I was up and out of the vehicle. There was another road, and I thought I saw something…

"What is it?" Weiss asked, coming after me. I shined the flashlight down at the road. Dirt tracks. Something turned off the road we followed and onto another one. "That could be anything."

"Yeah, but there aren't any people searching over here," I answered. I followed the tracks down the road, the car completely forgotten behind us. The tracks continued maybe five hundred feet, and then pulled into a small shoulder area, stopping. There was a guardrail, and a hill. Trees obscured most of the view, but I shone the flashlight in that general direction. As I did, Weiss tensed and put a hand on my shoulder.

"There's something down there," he stated. Not waiting for his approval or suggestions, I jumped the railing, holding onto the trees as best I could to keep from falling outright down the hill. "Wait! Vaughn! Damn." Reluctantly, I heard Weiss follow me. Within a few minutes, I was at the bottom of the hill.

And, to my relief, so was Sydney.

I dropped the flashlight, sending it rolling further down the hill, completely forgotten. Weiss was right behind me, and directed his flashlight to where I went, seeing Sydney lying against a tree, covered in dirt, blood all over her chest and face.

"Oh, god," I heard him say, moving closer as I knelt down beside her. Her chest was still moving, just a little. I pressed two fingers to her neck.

"She has a pulse," I stated, instantly relieved. _She's still alive, now let's _keep_ it that way. _"Come on, we have to get her out of here." Weiss clipped the light to his tactical vest, moving carefully around Sydney to try and get a hold of her feet.

"Are you sure moving her is the best idea?" Weiss questioned, looking at all the blood she lost.

"Better than leaving her here," I answered without hesitation. Weiss nodded a little. "All right. Count of three."

As we moved back up the hill, Weiss contacted the other agents and told them we needed help just off the road where the van was apprehended, and someone needed to call an ambulance. It was sheer _miracle _that Sydney survived this long, and even I knew we were talking minutes, if that.

_Hang on, Syd_, I thought, looking down at her face, streaked with dirt. _Hang on._


	18. Chapter Eighteen

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **derevkobristow-spawn, total vaughn lover, Gils, Tine, **and **Henka** for reviewing! Glad everyone liked chapter 17. This one isn't as fast-paced as the last two, but we'll get back to the action before long!! :-) Hope you keep enjoying and keep reviewing!! Thanks!

OOOOO

_"This isn't what they want," I state again. I look up at Lazarey, who seems confused. The Rambaldi box sits on the table between us. "There's got to be something we're missing."_

_"What do you mean?" he questions, brow furrowed in curiosity. He rests his injured arm painfully on the table, and I flinch at the sight of his missing hand. He smiles in compassion. "I told you, Julia – it had to be done. You saved my life. Twice."_

_"I know," I reply. He doesn't know my real name, though he knows more about me than anyone, at this point. I have my mannerisms, my voice, and my own personality when I am with Lazarey. It's refreshing not to be Julia Thorne in every aspect for a little while. I take the box, opening it again._

_"We've checked over the inside of the box – there is nothing there," he states, shaking his head. "They must require the tissue for something."_

_"It's too simple," I say again. I remove the small globe that holds the tissue. Rambaldi. It sends a chill down my spine. I look closely at the small amount of tissue inside. Skin. Living cells._

_Unbelievable._

_"There must be something more here," I insist._

_"And if there isn't?" Lazarey asks. I shake my head a little. I stare at the flesh. There's something on it…_

_"I think there's something on this," I finally say. I look up at him. "Do you have a magnifying glass?" He nods a little, opening his bag and pulling out a small reading spectacle. I smile at him as he hands it to me – it's obviously antique._

_"I planned to give that to my son, assuming I saw him again," he states. I've heard him speak of his son before, but never asked questions. Just as he never asks me questions when I speak of friends left behind – people I don't even know are still alive._

_People I love._

_I hold the small glass up to the tiny globe in my fingers. There is something there. Blue ink, like a tattoo, on the flesh itself. It's a number._

031247.

_"What is it?" Lazarey questions, noting that I see something._

_"I think it's a code," I reply. I think about showing him, and then I put the globe back in the box and close it. I remember something – a six-digit code._

_"Julia? What is it?" he asks, concerned._

_"Something they said… I heard Derevko speaking with Cole," I explain. I refer to her as 'Derevko', not 'my mother', so that he can never learn my true identity. No one knows of Sydney Bristow – not here. "Something about finding Rambaldi's greatest work. They needed a code to access it."_

_"The code on this?" Lazarey asks. I nod. "We must hide it. If it falls into their hands, they may have another weapon at their disposal. I know of a hotel in Graz – they have long-term storage. It will be safe."_

_"No it won't," I answer. I look at him seriously. "They think you're dead, but I still know the code."_

_"Yes, but there's nothing that can be done about that," Lazarey replies._

_"No," I disagree. "There's one thing."_

OOOOO

My eyes opened, slowly, straining to focus in the bright light. I tried to take a deep breath, which only served to send a searing pain through my chest. After that, I knew better than to try and sit up, licking my lips and trying to get a better look around the room.

Obviously, I was in a hospital. Oxygen was piped into my nose through a small tube, and I felt an IV in one arm, and a pulse monitor of some kind attached to one finger. There weren't any people around, so – for the moment – I knew I was safe.

With that sorted out, I tried to remember what happened. Sark contacted the CIA – he claimed a desire to cooperate with us, let us in on Derevko's plans – and that he wanted to meet with me. Of course, the only reason for that was he needed something I had access to.

The Rambaldi code. 031247. Another flashback made me remember the code, finding it on the tissue inside the box. The cube itself was real. We just misunderstood why the Covenant wanted it.

I didn't know the code when Sark confronted me. I didn't have the chance to tell him that, because… Nadia appeared. She came into the room, and she had a gun. She told me that Sloane told her I would kill her if I had the chance.

So she shot me.

After that, I remembered nothing. Naturally, that frightened me. Waking up in a strange city to find you have no recollection of the past two years will do that to you. Any time I was knocked unconscious or injured, waking up and not remembering where I was or how I got there, it terrified me. I couldn't help thinking that it would happen again.

I waited a few minutes, staring at the ceiling of my room. The only sound I could hear was the rhythmic beeping of the machine monitoring my heart rate. I was still drowsy, probably from whatever painkiller was being sent through my IV. I glanced over at it curiously. Of course, I couldn't see what it might contain – I couldn't move my head more than a couple of inches, and sitting up was out of the question. Just breathing sent shocks of pain through my chest.

My mother shot me once. Vaughn and I were on a mission in Taipei, trying to disable a device referred to as 'The Circumference'. Of course, I took that shot in the shoulder, and my mother intended it as a diversion.

Nadia really _did _try to kill me.

I glanced over at the door, hearing voices outside. One of them, I assumed, belonged to a nurse. The other was Dixon. After a moment, the door opened. Dixon looked over at me, smiling broadly when he noticed I was awake.

"Hey," I said weakly, trying my best to smile. He nodded to the nurse, who promptly excused herself.

"How do you feel?" he asked, stepping into the room and taking a seat in a chair beside my bed.

"Like I got shot," I replied, still smiling a little.

"You should have worn a vest," he chided me.

"Yeah, and made Nadia shoot me in the head instead? I don't think so," I replied, shaking my head. Naturally, that thought occurred to me as well. But, if I didn't nearly die from the wound to the chest, she would know something was wrong and promptly shot me in the head. I wouldn't survive that.

"True," Dixon said with a laugh.

"How long have I been here?" I questioned.

"Three days," he answered. I sighed a little, relieved. Even though it was irrational to think something went wrong again, I couldn't help myself. "Agent Vaughn found you in Russia." I nodded a little, tears springing to my eyes when he mentioned Vaughn's name. _After everything, he still saved my life…_ "He was here until a few hours ago – I finally convinced him to get some rest. Somewhere _else_." Dixon smiled a little.

"What happened?" I questioned, unable to avoid it any longer.

"Sark double crossed us," he stated, shaking his head. "Covenant support outnumbered us, and all of your support officers were killed shortly after you set foot in the warehouse." I shook my head, looking away. Six men, all of them dead just because we trusted Sark when we shouldn't have. "After shooting you, Nadia and Sark loaded you into a van and headed out on a dirt road.

"Apparently, they met with another team on that road, who took you with them and dumped you over a hill. Apparently, they didn't think you would survive. We tracked Nadia and Sark, but they both escaped."

I shook my head. My own sister shot me because of something Arvin Sloane told her – some prophecy. The Covenant had the Sphere of Life, and…

"Wait," I stated, looking at Dixon in confusion. "If they had the Sphere, why did they want the code?"

"Sorry?" Dixon asked, looking confused.

"When I met with Sark, he said he wanted a code from me. A six-digit number that I learned while I was in their custody. I had another flashback, and I think that code was the reason I chose to have my memories erased. On the tissue inside the Rambaldi cube, there was a number, I found it shortly after Lazarey and I retrieved it from the cave. Sark needs that number to activate the Sphere of Life, which Nadia led them to," I explained.

"But any remote modem could hack the device and come up with the code in no time," Dixon replied, trying to follow my line of thought.

"Right," I stated. "So, why did Sark come to me asking for the code?" Dixon thought for a moment, and then nodded a little, evidently understanding what relevance this had.

"Because there must be some kind of a failsafe. They need the correct code, because if they enter the wrong one…"

"The device will self-destruct, or something."

"Then why did Nadia try to kill you?"

"I don't know. Probably because of what Sloane told her – that I would kill her if I had the chance. Now, I just might." I didn't want to hurt my sister, but after shooting me… She wasn't going to get another chance, and if that meant killing her first… "I don't think she followed Sark's orders."

"And she probably doesn't know about the Rambaldi compound," Dixon stated. I nodded in agreement. That compound probably saved my life. The Covenant used it on Allison Doren, after I shot her, and the next time we fought, she recovered fast enough to break out of an ambulance and escape, despite being shot.

"Which was why Sark didn't stop her," I finished. "Because he knew it wasn't likely that she would actually kill me."

"And the code?" Dixon questioned. I shook my head a little.

"It's safer if I'm the only one that knows," I stated. "I knew what that machine was for. I found the code to open it, and I knew the Covenant couldn't get it, no matter what the consequences. I risked not telling Kendall about the code, not telling him about my mother, not telling Vaughn about Lauren… _Everything_ to make sure they didn't get it."

"Which is why your mother injected you with the compound," Dixon said with a nod. "So that she could access the code, after you destroyed the cube in Patagonia. The Covenant lost the original copy of the access code."

"Which means I'm the _only_ one that knows it," I replied.

"And they won't stop until they get it," Dixon stated, just as serious. "If the Covenant finds you, they'll do anything they can to get you to give them that code."

"I know," I answered. "So I guess we have one option." Dixon looked confused. "Get there first."

OOOOO

At Dixon's suggestion – or order, to be more accurate – I left the naval hospital and went to Weiss's apartment to get some sleep. I explained that I wasn't going back to my house unless it was to clean out all of my stuff and hand the keys to a real estate agency. Luckily, Weiss understood and offered his couch. Not the most comfortable place, but better than nothing.

I slept for a little over three hours before my pager went off. Instantly awake, adrenaline coursing through my veins, I snatched the pager off the table. It was Dixon at the hospital.

"What? I'm awake," Weiss said, stumbling out of his room and looking exhausted. He hadn't even bothered to change out of his suit, which now looked much worse for wear because he slept in it.

"Dixon," I replied, getting to my feet. Awake now, Weiss nodded and grabbed his car keys. We didn't waste any time getting to the hospital, passing the guards with very little difficulty. The one watching over the floor where Sydney was smiled a little at me, shaking his head when he saw I returned after just leaving a few hours ago.

I led the way down the hall, stopping at the door to Sydney's room. Dixon stood inside the room, near the door. I waited a moment, until Sydney looked up. She smiled when she saw me, and with little regard to Dixon, I pushed the door open, going over to the bed and pulling her gently into my arms.

"Hi," she said quietly, smiling a little. I did shoot a glance back at Dixon, who smiled politely and then promptly left the room. I returned my attention to Sydney, everything else – for the moment – forgotten.

"How are you?" I questioned.

"You mean considering?" she replied. I smiled a little, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "I'm all right. You?"

"Okay. I think Director Newman is going to put me on forced personal leave for the next three _decades_, but, other than that, things are okay," I joked. She smiled a little, shaking her head.

"Who knows – if we get some kind of a lead, he might _thank _you," she stated. "Especially since everything went so _well_ with Sark."

"Yeah, we'll see." There was a pause. "Listen, I want to apologize."

"For what?" she questioned.

"The other night. Saying those things…" I sighed, looking away and shaking my head a little. Finally, I looked back at Sydney. "I didn't mean any of that."

"I know," Sydney insisted, nodding a little. There were tears in her eyes.

"The last thing I want to do is hurt you," I stated. "And when Weiss told me about your mission to Russia… What happened with Sark and your sister, that you were missing…" I shook my head again, eyes cast down at the standard-issue white hospital blanket over the bed. "I thought I lost you all over again."

"But you didn't," she replied with a smile. "You saved my life."

Then, not caring who might be out in the hall, or possibly looking into the room to see what was going on, I leaned over and kissed Sydney. Despite the gunshot wound to her chest, she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me in even closer to her. Several minutes passed before I pulled back, smiling at her a little. She smiled in reply.

"God… Syd, I love you so much."

"I love you too."


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **derevkobristow-spawn, total vaughn lover, daisyduke947, Gils, Tine **and **Mandy **for reviews!! Glad everyone is still liking it so much! :-) Here's the next chapter, and I promise I'll get back to the action soon, so just hang out through my reviewing. Thanks!!

OOOOO

The doctors made Vaughn leave the room for several hours to run some tests, make sure that I wasn't having trouble breathing, that kind of thing. All I could focus on was the fact that he apologized for the fight we had several nights ago, and now we finally had some idea of where we stood with each other.

Finally, after being told what I already knew – that I was healing and not having any trouble breathing or anything – the doctors left and allowed Vaughn to come back into the room. Weiss and Dixon excused themselves long ago, returning to the Rotunda in hopes of questioning Lauren's mother.

"Hey. I brought decent food," Vaughn said, holding up a plastic bag with a couple of cartons from my favorite Chinese restaurant inside. "And this was the only place open."

"Thank you," I replied, sitting up a little and wincing at the pain in my chest.

"You know, you probably shouldn't do that," he chided me, still smiling a little. I rolled my eyes playfully, and he came into the room, pulling one of the chairs up beside the bed, setting the food down on the tray.

"Have Dixon and Weiss gone back to the Rotunda?" I questioned. I knew they left, but didn't know if either planned on dropping by.

"Yeah," he replied, pulling a couple of the cheap tag board cartons out of the bag, handing one to me. "Here."

"Thanks," I answered. I paused for a moment, and then sighed. "Listen… I need your help with something. Normally, I would ask my father to help with this kind of investigation, but I don't think he's really the person I need to be talking to right now." Vaughn looked at me for a long moment, sitting back in his chair.

"Sure, anything," he finally said. I took a deep breath, nodding a little. After pausing for a long moment, I started again.

"This is gonna sound… _Completely _insane," I stated. I glanced around the room for a moment, wanting to make sure there was no one listening in on our conversation. Luckily, the CIA didn't make a habit out of eavesdropping on hospital patients, and the most I had to worry about was a guard outside the soundproof door.

"What?" Vaughn prodded, obviously wondering what I was getting at. I sat forward a little, serious now.

"My father told me, just before my mission to Russia… That he's a Follower of Rambaldi," I finally said. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but-"

"I know," Vaughn interrupted. My eyes widened.

"What?"

"On the plane back from Palermo. I mean, I didn't _know_ for sure, but… Listen, I heard him talking to Director Newman. I told you they mentioned something called 'Phase Three', and that they didn't tell you the truth about Project Prodigy. I found the folder in the archives. I didn't have the chance to read any of it, but I did find a list of 'contacts', taped to the back of one of the pages," Vaughn explained.

"What does that mean, 'contacts'?" I questioned.

"I have no idea," he answered. "But… There were several names on that list I recognized. Director Newman, your father, a man named Thomas Brill that we contacted when the NSC took you into custody… And my father."

"Your father?" I echoed, confused. "But… Nothing in the project description mentioned him, or Brill."

"I know," Vaughn replied. "But, before, when we were searching for your sister, he came to me. He told me that Irina Derevko shot my father, not because she was under orders, but because he took Nadia away from her." He paused for a moment. "Sydney, he said my father was a Follower of Rambaldi."

"So, that list…"

"Yeah. I think that list of 'contacts' on the back of Project Prodigy was a list of his followers." I paused for a long moment, finally nodding slowly. "Did you find the list?"

"No," I answered. "I looked for the folder, but someone must've known you found it. It was gone." Vaughn shook his head, looking away a little. "I had another flashback. I… It was after I escaped from the Covenant facility where I was staying. My mother came to see me, she asked what happened." I looked up at him. "Lauren knew I pretended to be Julia, that's _why _I left. She said… It doesn't matter." I shook my head a little. "My mother came in, but Lauren didn't tell her anything. I tricked her, I didn't let her know she hadn't brainwashed me.

"She set up a meeting – she wanted me to give her the Rambaldi cube the next morning. I told her I'd go. I met with the doctor first thing the next morning, the one that erased my memories. But, as she left my hotel room… I saw my father."

"I thought Lindsey had him in solitary for almost a year," Vaughn stated.

"I know. I did too," I replied, confusion evident on my face. "Which means, whatever all of this is, Lindsey was in the middle of it. I have no idea how many other people are involved – that's why I can't take this to the agency."

"You can't be sure that it goes that deep-"

"I can," I said with a nod. "My father told me. He said that I shouldn't take it to anyone, because I didn't know how many people were involved, and I might just make things worse for myself." I paused. "He _threatened _me."

"Yeah. Welcome to the club," Vaughn replied seriously. He paused for a moment, sitting forward again. "Okay, so we know he's behind this. He works with Irina Derevko, but… What are they after? What are they trying to do?"

"I don't know," I answered. "But, Sark's working with them. Sark came to the CIA because he needed to meet with me. He needs a code, a six-digit number I learned sometime while I was in custody. They must need that code to access the Sphere of Life."

"Yeah, Dixon mentioned they have it."

"I don't remember what that artifact does, but I knew when I chose to have my memories of those two years removed," I continued, looking over at him seriously. "Vaughn, that's the _reason_ I did this. I removed everything I experienced in those two years so that the Covenant could never _get _that code. I don't know what getting it will do, but… I risked everything, my _life_, to keep them from getting it."

"You know the code." I sighed, nodding.

"I do," I replied. "That's the reason my mother injected me with the Rambaldi compound, the same one they used on Allison Doren. To get me to remember that code. That's what was inside the cube. They didn't need the DNA, they needed the number tattooed on the skin inside the cube."

"They're going to come after you, you know that."

"I know. Dixon said the same thing."

"Okay, so what do we do?"

"The only thing I can think… We've got to get to it first." Vaughn raised his eyebrows in question. "Sark told me there was another facility, like the one where my sister was being held when she was younger, in Russia. He said it wasn't far from the warehouse where we set the meeting."

"He might be trying to lead us to it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the Covenant could come after you, take you into custody, torture you until you told them the code… Or, they could make you _think_ that's what they would do, so that you'd go in there and enter the code yourself. Save them the trouble."

"Right," I agreed after a moment, seeing his logic. It would save the Covenant time and resources if I went in of my own free will, wanting to get to the device before they did. "Okay, so we destroy it."

"I don't think that's exactly what the CIA had in mind."

"I know, but it's not safe. I know that code, and the Covenant knows that. They aren't going to back down, and taking the same… Precautions I did last time is out of the question, especially now that my mother knows the exact way to counteract that."

"Yeah, but DOJ is never going to sanction a mission to destroy the device, no matter what we tell them."

"I know." I paused. "Which is why we're going to have to do it alone."

OOOOO

The next afternoon, I asked Dixon to have Will stop by.

Vaughn wanted to try contacting Thomas Brill; a freelance agent that he thought might give us some information. If he was a Follower of Rambaldi, asking for his help in destroying his greatest invention would be ludicrous, but getting information would be just as helpful. Or so I hoped.

In the meantime, we would need all the help we could possibly get. At the moment, the entire task force was Vaughn, Weiss, and I. And I remained in the hospital, recovering from a near-fatal gunshot wound. Will wasn't trained as a field officer, but I saw his skills in close combat and with weapons, and he definitely had the raw skill we needed.

Of course, explaining all of this to him – even though it took four hours and three cups of coffee – was still the _easy _part.

"Okay," he finally said. I spent half the day explaining what I knew of my life as Julia Thorne, detailing how I found out about it and why Kendall told me. I explained that we learned Lauren was the Covenant mole, and that Vaughn killed her in Palermo. I left out the parts about our argument and that I knew she was Covenant, and about her and Sark abducting and torturing Vaughn for information about my sister. I did explain my mother's affair with Arvin Sloane, and that my sister was the one that shot me in Russia. I told him my mother led the Covenant, and that my father was a Follower of Rambaldi – that they were working together to try to coerce me into giving Sark the code for the Sphere of Life. "Just when I think I know what's going on…"

"Tell me about it," I replied with a smile. "I know it's hard to understand all of this, especially all at once. But, the reason I asked Dixon to have you come here is because I need your help."

"Sure. Anything," Will said instantly. "Well, anything that's not going to, you know, get me _shot _or something." He smiled a little, trying to lighten the mood. I returned the smile, but didn't comment on his attempt at a joke.

"The Covenant knows I know the code for the Rambaldi device," I stated. "My mother gave me a dose of the Rambaldi compound, the same one they gave to Allison Doren, to restore my memories and make me remember the code."

"So we need to get in there and find some way to disable it?" Will questioned, looking slightly confused but also powerfully intrigued.

"I was thinking more like destroy it," I answered truthfully. "The thing is, we can't take the idea to the CIA – they'll never sanction a mission to destroy something that might have some kind of value, historical otherwise."

"Right," Will replied, chewing on his lip in thought. "So… How many people are in on this?"

"If we count you?" I asked. He nodded, and I sighed a little. "Four."

"That's it?" he questioned.

"Because we don't know how far my father's reach extends inside the agency, there are not a lot of people we can trust. You, me, Vaughn and Weiss – that's the team right now. We might be able to get Dixon, maybe a couple of my old freelance contacts, if they're still alive after three years."

"Okay, now I'm not up on SOP for a mission like this, but isn't four, maybe five people a _little _bit of a stretch?" Will asked. I smiled a little at his use of the acronym for 'standard operating procedure', something I taught him when he started working as an analyst for the CIA.

"Yes, it is," I replied. "Especially when we're talking about infiltrating a building when we don't know where it is, what it looks like, or how many security personnel the Covenant may have inside."

"Is there some way for us to get access to any of that information?"

"Not unless we someone was on the inside." I stopped for a moment. "Wait. Vaughn took Lauren's mother into CIA custody right before my mission to Russia. She's a high-ranking official inside the Covenant – she might know something about this facility."

"Yeah, but CIA custody – how are we gonna swing that?" Will questioned.

"I can get an anti-eavesdropping device from Marshall, that's not a problem," I replied. "Weiss might be able to get into the camera system. At least he can keep watch on the cameras, make sure that no one else sees us meeting with Olivia."

"Right." Will paused for a moment. "Listen, I don't mean to rain on the parade or whatever, but you're going to be stuck here for a while."

"I know," I answered. For a moment, I didn't say anything more. I needed to think of something. My father would be keeping a close eye on Vaughn and I, now that we both knew he was a Follower of Rambaldi. Besides, I knew that Olivia would never talk to Vaughn in the first place – not after he took her into custody. "So, I'm gonna need your help with that."

"What? _My_ help?" Will questioned.

"You have temporary clearance into the Rotunda. Weiss can help, but my father is going to be all over anything Vaughn and I try to do. Marshall's here, in this hospital. Room 319. If you go to him, he'll tell you where to find what you need," I explained. "Weiss can get you into the holding cell area. Once there, you just have to find out whether or not she knows anything."

"And how do I make her talk to me?"

"I don't know yet. You don't have the authority to make her any kind of a deal, and there's no assurance that she'd believe you anyway." Will nodded a little.

"Okay, so… Olivia Reed is Covenant. Your father is a Follower of Rambaldi. They're obviously not on the same side, even though your parents _were _cooperating at one point. Maybe I can convince her that we need help to stop the Followers of Rambaldi, which seems to be the Covenant's main goal, right?"

"I guess it's worth a shot."

"All right. I'm gonna go see Marshall."


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **beachgal365, Eyghon, **and **Total Vaughn Lover** for reviewing!! Here's the next chapter, hope everyone likes it. The 'flashback' in this one is from "Full Disclosure" and I used a transcript from twiz tv to get the dialogue right. Let me know what you think.

OOOOO

With some help from Will and a couple of gadgets from Marshall, Sydney, Weiss and I actually came up with a plan. Or, at least, the beginning of a plan. Which was better than nothing, but we were still going to need a lot of help.

The next morning, Will came to the Rotunda with Weiss and me. He went into Marshall's office, finding one of the ninety-second anti-eavesdropping devices he built as a precaution for us to take with us on missions. Once he had it, Weiss would 'negotiate' his way into the office where a guard kept watch over the cameras to the holding cells at all times. He'd turn off the tape, explaining it as some kind of technical problem that happened while the tapes were being switched over.

Sydney pointed out that Jack would keep a very close eye on both of us, considering that we knew the truth about him. What he didn't know was that Weiss and Will both knew as well, and that the two of them were going to help us find and destroy Rambaldi's Sphere of Life.

I couldn't help wondering – was that what the prophecy meant? The power Rambaldi spoke of was the Sphere of Life, and he prophesized that Sydney would destroy it, which was exactly what the four of us were now planning to do.

_Come on, Vaughn_, I chided myself with a cynical grin. _Since when do _you_ believe any of this?_

"All right," I heard Weiss say, shaking me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him, sitting across from me in the back of the van Will used to get to and from the LA safe house where he was staying. "I'll go in first. I'll find Jack, distract him. Say something about how he should go visit Sydney or something, now that she's awake. That should give Will enough time to get the device and get out of Marshall's office undetected.

"Once you have the device," Weiss continued to Will, "you'll make your way down to the holding cell where Olivia Reed is being held. I've spoken with one of the guards, he's going along with the story that you're cleared to talk to her as an analyst because she might have information on what you were working on with Kendall and the DSR."

"All right," Will agreed with a nod.

"I'll go into the control office and turn off the tape. We'll have to match our time with the time they usually switch the tape, right at two PM. If anyone asks, I'll say there was a technical problem, someone grabbed the wrong tape or something," Weiss continued. "Watch the camera in the hall – when the red light goes off, you know you're clear. Get whatever information you can from her, where the facility is, how to get inside, how many guards… All of it."

"Where do you fit into all of this?" Will asked, looking over at me.

"Extra distraction," I answered. "If Jack suspects something is going on, I'm going to be the first person he suspects. So, he'll watch me until he's sure I'm not up to something."

"Okay," Will stated. He nodded a little, obviously still a little unsure about the whole thing. "Let's do it."

The three of us went inside, Weiss immediately going to Jack's workstation and leaning on the desk, blocking his view of Marshall's office. I went to my computer, glancing up to see Will enter the office. As the door closed, I looked over at Weiss and Jack. Weiss stood, shrugging a little and continued on his way to the control room.

And Jack immediately looked over at me.

I turned away, staring blankly down at my keyboard. I had no idea if this would work, or if Olivia had any idea where this facility was in the first place. And then, if this worked, we still had to get a flight to Russia without Jack catching on, and get the weapons and gear we would need to destroy the Sphere of Life.

For several minutes, nothing happened. I glanced over my shoulder once, seeing Jack still near his workstation, talking to one of the low-level analysts. I knew he was watching me – probably wanting to make sure that nothing was going on. Finally, Weiss appeared beside my desk.

"All right. We're good," he said. "I'll meet you outside in five." With that, he left, going back into the parking garage where the van waited for the three of us. After waiting for a few moments, making sure Jack didn't get curious, I took a couple of files out of one of the drawers and went outside as well.

I met up with Weiss and Will in the van.

"That went well," Will stated.

"Did you get anything?" I questioned.

"Yeah. Once we got past the part about my being an annoying reporter and her being a coldhearted bitch, we actually got somewhere," Will answered, his dry sense of humor coming through in his anxiety.

"Yeah, like mother, like daughter," Weiss threw in. Despite myself, I smiled a little.

"Anyway, she says the facility is located just outside of a town called Kretchnia, on the sublevel of an old paper mill," Will continued. "She's never been inside, so she couldn't give me any real details, but she did say there could be over two dozen guards there."

"That's a lot of firepower," Weiss stated.

"Yeah, plus Sloane, Sark, and Irina Derevko," I added. "Which, if they have the Sphere of Life there with them, means even more security on top of their personal details."

"We're gonna need more than three agents, one who's injured, and one analyst," Will stated.

"Right," I stated. "A _lot_ more."

OOOOO

_"You and I are going to work together. You and I are going to spend lots of time together. But we _will _get the results that my employers requested," he says, right beside me. The way he smells, the way he coos in my ear… It's disgusting. I resolve myself the minute I hear this voice – I will kill this man. "I always do."_

_I look up at the ceiling. I'm in a van. I've been unconscious for days. I don't know how I know these things, but I know. I try to cry out, but there's duct tape over my mouth. I'm strapped to a gurney and I can't move. I try to fight, but I feel a stinging in my arm._

_I realize it's a neurotoxin. My body goes limp. Paralyzed._

_He pushes the gurney up, so it's like I'm standing. I can't move anything but my eyes. Can't even try to speak, no matter how much I want to scream and scream and never stop._

_"Your roommate was easy," he continues. I can see out the back door of the van. We're on the beach – there are people there. People down by the water. They're all dressed in black. There's a priest or something. I realize it's a funeral. But, that would mean… "We unearthed her. We left her in your apartment before we burned it."_

_Francie. They killed Francie, they doubled a woman named Allison Doren to look like her, to pretend to be her. To lie to me. To use me, to use Will… I shot Allison. I fainted._

_"But you, that was more difficult," the man says. "When a body is burned badly enough, the DNA they test for… Is in the teeth."_

_I watch out the back of the van. As I do, I start to recognize people. There's the priest. I see my father, I see Dixon…_

_"We extracted pulp from your teeth," he informs me. "And we injected it into the teeth of the corpse who was to be your replacement."_

_I have so many questions. Where am I? What am I seeing? Who is 'we'? What the_ hell _is going on?_

_The beach. Dixon, Marshall, Weiss, my father… And Vaughn. All dressed in black suits. There's a priest, and Vaughn is holding a silver urn at his side. I realize what this is._

_It's _my _funeral._

_"Of course, they tested the body they found. To them, it was you," the man says. They are all coming back up from the beach, towards their cars. They just spread ashes into the sea – ashes they think are mine._

_I watch Vaughn. He thinks I'm dead. He walks up to his car. Turns around, hugs Weiss for support. The man I'm with turns my head towards them – he forces me to watch this. There are tears in my eyes. Despite the neurotoxin in my blood, I fight to cry out. To struggle, to do _anything _to make them realize where I am._

_I'm right here! I'm alive! Please, can't you see me? Can't you hear this man talking, can't you… You can't believe them! You can't believe I'm _dead

_"He will mourn and move on," the man states. He's breathing on my ear, down my neck. I want to be sick, but even my stomach won't obey me. "Find someone else, perhaps."_

_He turns my face away. I strain to keep looking in that direction. Suddenly, it strikes me that there's a good chance this is the last time I will ever see Vaughn, and I can't bear to tear my eyes away._

_"The sooner you accept that you are no longer who you were, the easier this will be. Sydney Bristow… Is gone."_

OOOOO

I jerked myself awake, glancing around. I was still in the hospital, in my room. The lights in the hall were still on, along with one to the side of my bed, but most of the room was dark. I glanced at the neon clock on the end table beside me, seeing that it was two in the morning.

"Hey." I looked over, seeing Vaughn seated in the chair beside my bed. He looked like he fell asleep there, probably awakened by my sudden movement. I relaxed into the pillow again, smiling at him.

"Hey," I replied. "Have you been here all night?" He nodded.

"Yeah. This chair isn't exactly comfortable, but neither is Weiss's couch," he answered with a laugh. Both of us were silent for a long moment. "Was that another flashback?" I nodded.

"Yeah. I can hardly close my eyes anymore," I stated. I pushed myself, painfully, into a sitting position. "I really hope MS finds something to counteract whatever my mother gave me."

"You really think remembering everything is going to be that bad?" I sighed, leaning forward a little and looking at him seriously.

"I was at my own funeral, Vaughn," I stated, shaking my head a little. "Strapped to a gurney in the back of a van, paralyzed by a neurotoxin given to me by the doctor that spent nine months _torturing_ me. I watched you scatter my ashes into the Pacific Ocean." Vaughn shook his head, looking away for a moment.

"I saw that van. It was parked right next to my car," he stated.

"I don't _want _these memories," I continued. "Before, I thought it would be better to remember. To know where I was, what I'd been through… This has been going on less than a week, and I've already changed my mind." Vaughn nodded.

For a long moment, neither of us said anything. Finally, I shook my head, deciding to change the subject.

"Did we get anything from Olivia Reed?" I questioned.

"Yeah. Will helped," he answered. "Apparently, the other facility is on the sublevel of an old paper mill just outside a village called Kretchnia. It's not far from where you met with Sark."

"Security?"

"Two dozen strong, usually. But, with the Sphere of Life there, as well as Sloane, Sark, and your mother… We have no idea how many people there might be."

"We don't have the manpower to go in against that."

"Yeah, Will said the same thing." He sighed. "We know what we have to do, the question is, how do we pull something like that off?"

"I have no idea. But, there's got to be something. Someone we can get in contact with, someone with connections. We need gear, probably money to pay for whatever help we manage to scrape up."

"There might be something," Vaughn stated, digging into his pocket and retrieving a small silver key. "Your father gave me this, back when… Before Palermo. It's a key to a storage facility. A place he keeps weapons, cash… Probably everything we need."

"My father has a storage facility?" I questioned, looking confused. Vaughn handed me the key. "He never mentioned anything…"

"Yeah. From what I figure, he's got more than one. Otherwise, he never would have shown it to me. Or to Arvin Sloane, for that matter." My eyebrows rose in question. "When we broke you out of NSC custody, we used the facility for weapons. And some impromptu surgery when Sloane took a bullet."

"Okay. But, we have to assume my father went and cleaned that place out. If he knows you have the key, he might try and stop us from getting to it."

"I'll call Weiss first thing. We'll go there and get what we can, make sure we get to it before he does." I nodded. "But, finding support is going to be the hard part."

"Any tech we need, we can get from Marshall. We need sheer manpower at this point, and hiring freelancers might be our best bet."

"I'm going to try and contact Thomas Brill. He helped with your extraction from Camp Williams, and he might have information on Project Prodigy. Something we can use to find out what's going on."

"Okay. We've got to do this as soon as we can, before someone realizes what we're up to."

"Are you sure you're gonna be up for that?" He nodded to the wound in my chest. I smiled a little, nodding.

"Yeah. Trust me… I'll be fine."

OOOOO

Despite my concern for the still-tender gunshot wound in Sydney's chest, she checked herself out of the hospital the next evening, promising her doctor she would follow his orders of bed rest. Of course, I knew she would do nothing of the sort, but she wouldn't listen to my protests.

"I can't stay here forever," she insisted. "The longer I'm here, the more chance there is of the Covenant finding me. Or of my father finding out what we're planning to do and stopping us."

So, I finally agreed with her. After all, it was a risk that the Covenant would locate her, especially if Nadia knew she survived. And, because of the risk we all faced from Jack Bristow, it seemed safest – for now – to pretend that nothing changed. My first impulse was to disappear and worry about the mission we were planning, but then I realized that the second we did that, someone would start looking for us.

In the meantime, I spent several hours in the basement of the Rotunda, digging through whatever old files I could find until I located the contact protocol Jack used to get in touch with Thomas Brill. Finding his old file would have made things a lot easier, but those were classified, and I didn't want to go digging around in any sensitive information. Arousing suspicion was the last thing I needed. Luckily, I did find the number they gave him when he started working with the CIA, and a way to get in contact with him, all by referencing about six different files to one another.

The protocol led back to the park where I first met Brill, with Jack earlier that year. Weiss stayed at the Rotunda to cover for me, while Sydney came along. Will was at the Rotunda as well, apparently running further analysis on the Rambaldi manuscript from Project Black Hole, with some help from Dixon. With everything going on there, I hoped that Jack wouldn't notice my absence.

"Okay," I said as I activated my earpiece. Sydney remained over by the van, seated on a bench reading an old book she picked up from her house. What she was _really _doing was monitoring the meeting, and keeping an eye out for anyone watching us. "You ready?"

"Ready as ever," she stated, glancing up and looking around. "The place looks clear."

"All right. I'm going in." I started towards the chessboards in the center of the park area, where I could see Thomas Brill, resetting his board after a game won with a much older man. He didn't even glance up as I sat down across from him. But, I didn't really expect him to. He probably noticed me before I got anywhere near him.

"Good memory," he stated. "You only came here once before."

"I seem to be as good at finding you as you are at finding me," I replied. Brill looked up, smiling at me now.

"Ah, but I hid in the open," he answered. "The first place anyone would expect to find me. Anyone with access to protocol." I nodded, knowing that trying to play up my own intelligence to this seasoned spy would get nowhere.

"I need your help," I stated.

"Of course you do," he said with a grin. He glanced over toward the bench where Sydney sat. "Is she with you?" I was a little taken aback – was it _that_ obvious? I glanced over towards Sydney, who didn't look up. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Look," I said, sighing and returning my attention to him. "I didn't come here for a demonstration on reading people. I need contacts if you have any, and whatever information you're willing to share on something."

"All right," Brill finally agreed with a nod. "What is it you need?"

"Half a dozen freelance contracts, skilled with weapons and infiltration of a hostile facility," I answered.

"Where is this facility?"

"Russia." He rose his eyebrows at that.

"Really. That's gonna be a little tough to swing. How are you going in?"

"Relatively blind. We have Intel that suggests there could be a couple dozen security personnel on-site." I paused for a moment, then rationalized that I came to him for his intelligence and advice, and might as well tell him as much as I could. "There are also going to be some chief operatives of an international terrorist organization there."

"That much security, you might be better off with ten, maybe twelve men," Brill replied. "More if we're talking no-kill shots."

"The guards aren't important, but we need our targets alive for questioning," I stated. He nodded a little, evidently deep in thought. I waited for a moment, wanting to give him as much time as I could to think.

"All right, I can swing that. But, it'll cost a base of fifteen per head. Probably more, depending on who these 'targets' are, which I'm gonna need to know before I start making phone calls."

"Our primary targets are Irina Derevko and Arvin Sloane," I answered. Brill laughed.

"You're not gonna get the funds you need for that one," he stated, shaking his head.

"I've got plenty." He looked at me in disbelief, but could obviously read the I'm-not-kidding look on my face and nodded again.

"Okay. We're looking twelve guys, all freelance based in Russia or close by. I've got some names in mind, but Derevko and Sloane… That's gonna drive the price up."

"Give me a ballpark figure."

"Probably fifty, sixty a guy. You got a team already?"

"Four of us."

"Sixteen should be enough with the standard stealth-ops. Maybe bump it up a little, get some night-vision worked in… What about transport, weapons…?"

"I've got all that taken care of."

"You really _are _resourceful." I smiled a little at that. "All right, we'll go on a base of fifty a head, that's six hundred for everyone. Maybe thirty for the stealth gear you'll need. Going in blind is gonna leave you at a disadvantage. There's no way to get your lead to give you blueprints or anything."

"No. My source has never been to this facility." Brill nodded again. "But, since we're talking kill shots on all but the targets, that simplifies things."

"Yes it does. All right. I'll start making calls. We'll use the same dead drop location as before."

"No good. That location may have been compromised. Have the operatives meet us the warehouse at this address," I stated, handing a small envelope to Brill. "I put a couple of other things in there, too." Brill opened the envelope, smiling at the two large bills inside.

"I get it," he said with a nod. "Incentive."

"I told you I needed some information."

"What can I help you with?"

"There's a CIA-sanctioned project, begun almost thirty years ago, that recently surfaced in Wittenberg. Called Project Prodigy. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Brill's face fell, and he sighed deeply, shaking his head a little.

"I don't know who led you to that, but that's an area where you shouldn't be sniffing."

"Why not?"

"The people that put that project together are dangerous people. The more you find out about it, the more reason they have to lock you up or kill you, whichever can be explained easier. Don't go asking too many questions." He started to stand up to leave.

"On the back of one of the pages is a list, a list of contacts," I stated, catching his attention. "Your name is on that list. Jack Bristow, Director Mark Newman… My _father's _name is there. What is that list?"

"I told you once, Agent Vaughn," he stated, leaning in and dropping his voice. "Don't dig into this. The deeper you dig, the easier it is for them to bury you. Keep that in mind."

And, before I could say anything more, Brill turned and left.

"Okay, what the hell was _that _about?" Sydney asked. I shook my head, still staring after the older agent.

"I have _no _idea."


	21. Chapter Twenty One

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Eyghon, i love vaughn n syd, aliastar, total vaughn lover **and **mandi **for reviewing!! I'm glad everyone is so willing to keep up with my quick updates. The only reason I have updates so often is that most of this is already written. I've posted through 21 chapters but have about 35 or so written - I just didn't want to totally overload anyone by posting it all at once. :-) The song in this chapter is "Blow Me Away" by Breaking Benjamin. Hope everyone likes!!

OOOOO

It took three nights to get everything organized, and to hire an independent pilot who wouldn't ask too many questions to fly the four of us to Russia. Hopefully, despite whatever animosity Brill felt towards Vaughn after he asked about Project Prodigy didn't stop him from getting a band of freelance operatives together to help infiltrate the facility where the Covenant kept the Rambaldi device.

Weiss and Vaughn sat in the back of the plane going over what little information we got from Olivia Reed before leaving the Rotunda that afternoon. My father was nowhere to be found – apparently Dixon had him on some kind of a recon mission in Germany, which made it much easier on us to work unnoticed. I sat across from Will, checking over the stealth gear we brought with us.

"Is this gonna work?" Will questioned. I looked up at him, not understanding what he meant at first. "This mission?"

"I don't know," I answered after a moment. "It's going to be dangerous. There's still time, if you don't want to be in there with us. I mean, you're not trained in these kinds of situations."

"Yeah, I know," Will replied, sighing. "But, I can't just let you guys hog all the action, now can I?" He smiled a little. I smiled back, but looked away. Truthfully, I was worried that he might not be able to handle himself in combat. Sure, he did all right against Allison, and running away from Sark, but we were talking about infiltrating a building with two-dozen security guards, in the dead of night with a bunch of people we met three hours before.

But, I didn't voice my concerns to Will, knowing that he wouldn't listen anyway.

We landed in Russia and made our way to the small town of Kretchnia. Most of it was old warehouses and industrial buildings that shut down several years ago. Weiss secured transport before we left, and took us directly to the warehouse.

Inside were the twelve men Thomas Brill promised to recruit, each one paid a little over sixty thousand dollars to help us. The price seemed a bit steep to me, but when I considered that we were going after my mother and Arvin Sloane, as well as Sark and Nadia, it made sense. Arvin Sloane and Irina Derevko were known all over the world for the power they amassed, and the two of them together could only complicate things.

Vaughn outlined the mission for all of them, going over what Brill already told them to make sure everyone was clear. Yes, the guards can be taken down with kill shots. Sloane and Derevko are the primary targets, Sark and Nadia are to be taken into custody if the opportunity presents itself, but no one should harm them unless it's necessary.

And, with that, the team loaded into two black tactical vans that I swore were on loan from the LAPD SWAT team, and headed for the facility.

_They fall in line  
__One at a time  
__Ready to play  
__I can't see them anyway_

When we reached the old paper mill, I could see four guards stationed outside. The freelance team took care of them effortlessly, allowing us to pull up and unload.

"All right," Weiss said, trying to break up the tension with a little conversation. He tried in the van during the drive over, but gave up after a few moments, seeing that everyone was concentrating. "We go for the targets, while the other team sets the charges on the Rambaldi device, right?"

"Right," Vaughn replied, nodding.

"Okay. Sorry. Just paranoid," Weiss replied, apologizing for having to review the details of the mission once more.

"You'd have to be crazy _not_ to be," Will threw in.

"All right. Let's go," I stated, slinging my rifle over my shoulder. As usual, I wasn't planning on shooting anything, but my plan never really worked out that well. If I had to, I prepared myself to shoot any one of our targets in order to keep them from getting away.

Or, in Nadia's case, trying to kill me again.

_No time to lose  
__We've got to move  
__Steady the hand  
__I am losing sight again_

The four of us met up with the leader of the freelance team, a man named Kyle Hill, at the door to the facility. I had the distinct feeling that he worked for the CIA before becoming a freelancer, just because most of his training seemed identical to the training Vaughn and Weiss received. My own skills were, of course, a bit different because SD-6 trained me, not the CIA.

"We're prepped to blow the door," Kyle relayed. Vaughn nodded a little, and he pulled a small remote detonator off his vest, ducking slightly out of the way and pressing it. The hinges on the door of the building exploded, and the metal door crashed to the ground. "Go for entry."

On his command, all of the operatives began filing into the building, night vision goggles on and ready, ducking around corners and ready for anything. As the rest of us entered the building, I already knew something was wrong.

"There aren't any guards on this level," Will observed, apparently noticing the same thing I did. "Should there be?"

"Yeah," Weiss stated. "Especially if there are some thirty guards here."

"Maybe they're all on the sublevel," Vaughn replied. We followed the other team down into the lower levels of the building.

_Fire your guns  
__It's time to roll  
__Blow me away  
__I will stay, unless I may  
__After the fall  
__We'll shake it all  
__Show me the way_

The freelance team spread out over the lower level, looking for any sign of our targets or the rest of the guards. The entire place was dark, and completely empty. There were no other guards, despite what Olivia told Will about the security present at the facility.

"They knew we were coming?" Weiss wondered aloud.

"Looks that way," I replied, looking around.

"Lights!" one of the other operatives called. Everyone instinctively reached to the switch on the goggles, turning off the night vision before we were all blinded.

The lights came on, revealing the empty center of the facility. Someone set several computers up on one side of the room, probably half a dozen monitors and scanning devices. I could see where the Sphere of Life used to be, thanks to the photos Sark showed me in the warehouse when I met with him. But, the artifact itself was no longer there.

"Something's not right about this," Vaughn stated, looking around curiously.

"You think it's a trap?" I questioned. He shrugged.

_Only the strongest will survive  
__Lead me to heaven when we die  
__I am the shadow on the wall  
__I'll be the one to save us all_

"Let's check out these computers," he said. I left Will with Weiss, telling him to stay close to the other agent in case this was some kind of a trap set up by the Covenant. _But_, I reasoned, _if they set this up, where _is_ everyone?_

I followed Vaughn over to the desk with the computers on it. Most of them were still on, suggesting that whoever used them last left in a hurry, taking the Rambaldi artifact with them.

He sat down at the desk, trying to access some of the files saved on the desktop. I wanted to try accessing one of the other computers, stopping when I heard someone speaking over a megaphone outside.

"Attention all agents inside – this is Commanding Officer Bryant of the Untied States National Security Council." My eyes widened as I looked over at Vaughn. He looked just as surprised at this. "Stand down immediately!"

_There's nothing left  
__So save your breath  
__Lying awake  
__Caught inside this tidal wave_

"What's the NSC doing here?" Vaughn questioned, standing and starting towards the center of the room.

"We have the building surrounded, and will open fire. Under authority of the Patriot Act, Agent Sydney Bristow and Agent Michael Vaughn of the Central Intelligence Agency are under arrest!" the man on the megaphone – Bryant – continued.

"My father," I realized, swearing under my breath.

"We've got to get out of here."

_Your cover's blown  
__Nowhere to go  
__Only your fate  
__Only I will walk away_

"How? The only way out is upstairs!" I replied.

"Surrender immediately or we _will _open fire," Bryant stated again.

Before I could start looking around for another way out, I heard pounding footsteps on the metal stairwell that led down to the sublevel where all of us were. Weiss already took Will somewhere out of the way, and I hoped the two of them would stay there so they weren't implicated as well.

Obviously, my father knew what we planned to do. Because he was a Follower of Rambaldi and probably wanted to get into the Sphere of Life just like the Covenant did, he called the NSC to stop us on account of 'terrorism'. Which, in all honesty, wasn't far from the truth.

_Fire your guns  
__It's time to roll  
__Blow me away  
__I will stay, unless I may  
__After the fall  
__We'll shake it all  
__Show me the way_

That was when the wall behind me exploded.

I ducked the flying shards of metal and plaster, the loud explosion creating a ringing sound in my ears. I could still hear Bryant over the megaphone, and saw several NSC operatives running down the stairs and into the room.

I tried to follow Vaughn, who headed towards the other end of the sublevel in search of another door, when I heard screeching tires. I turned to look at the hole in the wall as a white van gunned through it, into the room in reverse. The back door of the van flew open, and two men dressed all in black jumped out, running towards me.

"Sydney! Hurry!" I looked up at the sound of a familiar voice, seeing Katya Derevko leaning out the back of the van.

_Only the strongest will survive  
__Lead me to heaven when we die  
__I am the shadow on the wall  
__I'll be the one to save us all  
__Wanted it back  
__Don't fight me now_

"Syd!" I glanced back at Vaughn, who had stopped as well when the van came screeching into the building. Two NSC operatives rushed him, grabbing both of his arms and pulling his gun away from him.

_Either get arrested or go with the woman who tried to kill us both_, I said to myself, heart pounding along with the ringing in my ears as I tried to make a spur of the moment decision. _Great options._

Before I could move either way, I felt hands grab me. The two men from Katya's van had me, and were pulling me in that direction. My instinct told me to fight back, even though I knew getting arrested by the NSC wasn't a much better option. Director Lindsey tried to kill me before, so I wasn't even sure this meant the rest of my life in a cell somewhere.

So, I went with them. They helped me into the back of the van, slamming the doors closed. I nearly fell over as the driver gunned the engine and shot back out of the hole in the side of the building.

"What is going _on_?" I asked, looking at Katya in question.

_Only the strongest will survive  
__Lead me to heaven when we die  
__I am the shadow on the wall  
__I'll be the one to save us all_

"All things in time," she stated. I felt a stinging in my arm, and looked over to see that one of the men she traveled with had just injected me with something. "I promise, I will explain."

Everything began to tilt as I realized the guard gave me some kind of tranquilizer. I swatted the man that injected me away, some part of me still trying to fight my way out of this. And then, I felt myself fall forward into Katya's arms, unconscious.

_Save us all_


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Eyghon, Tine, daisyduke947, **and **Gils **for reviewing!! :-) Here's the next chapter, hope everyone likes.

**Revelations  
**EPISODE 4.06

Bryant's team raided the building in a matter of minutes. It took me a moment, once it was all over, to figure out what the hell just happened.

Jack Bristow reported Sydney and I to the NSC. They came to Russia after us, thinking we were on some kind of a terrorist mission. Weiss and Will managed to escape, though I had no idea where they went, and most of the freelancers either ran or the NSC released them after questioning. The NSC team that raided the facility arrested me, throwing me in the back of a van and driving off towards what I could only assume was the airport.

And Katya Derevko took Sydney.

The sudden appearance of the NSC and their team, coupled with the explosion of one of the walls of the facility completely disoriented me. I tried to lead Sydney out through the back of the facility, hoping there was another door there somewhere, and then two NSC agents were on me, taking my gear and my weapon and handcuffing me. By the time I got to look around, Katya's van was gone, and so was Sydney.

I knew she hadn't gone with them willingly. After all, Katya stabbed me and tried to kill Sydney in Palermo when she went there looking for Lauren. The question was, why did she resurface all of a sudden, and get Sydney out before the NSC arrested her? I still didn't know what her endgame was, and it was now very doubtful that I would find out.

I didn't ask any questions on the plane back to Los Angeles. For one, I knew none of the agents on the plane with me would answer anything for me. And, for another, I already had a pretty good idea of what happened. I knew it had something to do with Jack. He was the only one with enough contacts to arrange something like this, especially without proof.

When we finally landed, I the agents took me back to the Rotunda. I heard one of the guards say something about how the director of my field office called en route, asking that I be brought there for questioning, rather than going to an NSC facility. I supposed I could thank Dixon for that – at least this way I stood a chance of getting out of custody. If the NSC took me somewhere, they'd most likely torture me until I confessed, and then lock me up somewhere for the rest of my life.

What I didn't expect, however, was to end up in the cell right next to Olivia Reed.

I noticed the smirk on her face as two of the US Marshals escorted me into the cell, removing the restraints and locking the door behind them. I glanced over at Olivia, and she shook her head a little, now smiling outright.

"Well, this is certainly a twist," she stated. I rolled my eyes, not responding as I walked to the far side of the cell, sitting down on the small cot that served as a bed. I already went through the standard procedure – hand over your ID and your sidearm, change into this prison-issue garb, etc. – and finally had time to think for a second.

I hoped that Weiss would get back to the states without getting arrested as well, as it was clear that Jack wasn't letting any of us get near the Sphere of Life. Hell, if he worked with Irina while the Covenant had Sydney, he might have learned of our plan and informed her himself, and that was why no one was there when we arrived.

I couldn't stop wondering about Sydney. Why did Katya appear all of a sudden? Why did Sydney go with her? What role did Katya play in all of this? Was she on Irina's side? I didn't even know which side was which anymore. The Covenant and the Followers of Rambaldi were always in opposition, but Jack was a Follower of Rambaldi and Irina was the head of the Covenant, and they worked together. Were they one in the same?

"I know what you did to Lauren." I looked up, seeing that Olivia was still staring at me, malice in her eyes. I shook my head, sighing a little.

"Believe me, she deserved a _lot_ worse," I shot back.

"That wasn't a call for you to make and you know that," she replied, not even hesitating.

"Considering that she only married me as a mission given to her by an international terrorist organization, I think that _makes _it my call," I said.

"She didn't join the Covenant of her own free will, you know," Olivia said. She leaned back against the wall of her own cell, sitting on her cot as well. "I recruited her three years ago."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I was recruited by a man named McKennas Cole," she continued, not bothering to answer my question. For the moment, I chalked it up to being stir-crazy and not having anyone else to talk to and left it at that. "He approached me, telling me that he wanted my help in pioneering the new face of an organization. He said that this organization was the perfect way for me to counteract what my husband was doing with a CIA project called the Trust.

"I didn't know it was terrorism. Cole said that, if I helped them, we might be able to bring down the Trust – stop the work my husband did. I wanted to bring him back from this, to stop his curiosity about Milo Rambaldi. I didn't know what I was getting myself into until it was too late."

"Don't try and play the pity card with me," I snapped. "You're not some innocent victim in all this. Or did you forget that you recently put a bullet in your husband's head?"

"As you did to your wife?" For a moment, I didn't respond.

"Lauren was a traitor. She was a double agent working inside the CIA to prevent us from doing our job, and she tried to _kill _me. I wasn't about to give her the chance to try again."

"To you she was a traitor," Olivia stated. "To me, she was a daughter. She was my child, and she was dedicated to her job."

"Her _job _was to use me!"

"You let her." That did it. I dropped my feet to the floor, feeling the same anger that flared up in me when I resolved to kill Lauren myself. I leaned forward, glaring at Olivia. She rose her eyebrows, detecting the sudden change in my demeanor.

"Let's get this straight," I stated, anger flooding my voice. "You know _nothing _about me. Don't think you understand this, because you _never _will. And the _only _reason you are in custody right now is because I couldn't classify _killing_ you as self defense."

Seeing I was serious, Olivia nodded a little and let her eyes fall to the floor, surrendering. After a moment, she looked back up at me and smiled a little.

"This round to you," she said mockingly. "But I imagine we're going to be here a very long while, and I think you'll be surprised at how much I really _do_ know."

OOOOO

I awoke to a cool, light breeze blowing into the room. Slowly, I opened my eyes. There was a large ceiling fan directly above me, spinning slowly. I could smell the ocean, and rolled my head slightly to look outside. I was alone, lying on a large mattress. It was daytime, and the breeze coming off the ocean ruffled the thin drape hanging over the open door.

Slowly, I sat up. I remembered being in the back of Katya's van, and one of her associates injecting a tranquilizer into my arm. I tried to ignore it, but there was that fear again. Where was I? How did I get here? How long have I been here? I looked around the room. There was no sign of either of the men from the van, or of Katya for that matter. I wasn't guarded or secured, which was either a good thing or a very bad one.

After a moment, I swung my feet over the side of the bed, getting up and walking outside. The room I woke up in was an extension of a large house, right on the beach. It was warm outside, and the door took me out onto a patio. There was a table and a couple of chairs, as well as a set of stairs leading right down onto the beach.

"Hello, Sydney." I looked back over my shoulder, seeing Katya at the other end of the deck. She looked almost casual in a black skirt and a blue tank top, but I refused to let my guard down. I knew better, especially when dealing with my mother's relatives. "Did you sleep well?"

"You mean considering that you drugged me?" I questioned. "Yeah, great." Katya smiled, walking past me to the table and taking a seat. Reluctantly, I followed her, but remained standing.

"You must forgive me for that. I was afraid that you would jump from the van at the first opportunity, despite the fact that I rescued you from the NSC," Katya replied. She nodded to the chair across the table. "Please. Have a seat."

"Where are we?" I asked, ignoring her offer and looking off down the beach. Katya followed my gaze, looking back at me after a moment.

"My safe house in the Caribbean." I glanced over at her in question. She smiled. "Just because I needed a safe house doesn't mean I couldn't make it in a beautiful location."

"If this is a safe house, you know it's dangerous bringing me here. It jeopardizes this location," I stated. Katya nodded a little.

"Yes, you're right. But, considering that Jack Bristow told the NSC to arrest you, who are you possibly going to tell about this place?" she asked, a small smile still playing at the corner of her mouth. I didn't respond because I knew she was right. If my father classified me as an enemy of the state, no one would care that I knew the location of Katya Derevko.

"What am I doing here?" I questioned, finally sitting down.

"I wanted to apologize. For what I did to you and to Agent Vaughn. You have to understand, it was never my intention to kill either one of you," she explained.

"Right," I snapped sarcastically. "And the fact that you tried to shoot me in the back of the head was an honest mistake."

"I believed the Covenant knew the location of Rambaldi's Sphere of Life," she continued, not phased by my remark. "And while I didn't want them to get it, I knew I couldn't let the CIA get it either. I needed to play both sides – get you and Agent Vaughn to trust me, as well as Agent Reed.

"My plan was to stop you from finding the Sphere of Life – I didn't know you went to Palermo to kill Lauren Reed and not as a mission for the CIA. And I knew that trying to convince you not to bring the artifact back to the CIA would never work. It seemed that killing you was my only option, though I certainly never wanted to go that far."

"I thought you were working with my mother. I'm sure you knew she's the head of the Covenant, so I'll be blunt – why sabotage her operations as well as interfering with the CIA?"

"I am working with Irina. Not with the Covenant."

"I don't understand."

"I don't expect you to." I sighed, shaking my head a little. Every answer I got out of Katya left me with ten more questions – we were getting nowhere.

"Why did you want the CIA away from the Sphere of Life?" I asked after a moment, changing the subject and hoping to get back to some questions that might get answered. "Is it because my father, and some of the other high-ranking agents, are Followers of Rambaldi?"

"How did you discover that?" Katya questioned, the smile falling off her face. Now it was my turn to smile a little.

"You keep your secrets, I'll keep mine." She sighed, but didn't press the matter.

"Very well," she said after a moment. "And, yes. That is precisely why the CIA cannot get their hands on the artifact. They want to use it the same way the Covenant does."

"What will it do?" I questioned.

"That is not an easy question to answer." I just stared at her for a moment.

"Then give me the complicated version." She smiled again.

"All right." She paused for a moment, and then began explaining. "As you know, Rambaldi was a philosopher from the fifteenth century. In addition to being one of the leading architects at the time, he was a scholar, and some say, a prophet. He was able to predict things, down to the second – things that would not occur for another five hundred years.

"One of his prophecies speaks of a woman – someone that would find his artifacts after his Followers buried them all over the world, and bring them together to lead them to the Sphere of Life. As you know, the Covenant and the Followers of Rambaldi all believe that you are the Chosen One."

"And the prophecy says that I'll be the one to destroy the Sphere of Life," I finished. As the search for Rambaldi continued, I had several opportunities to review the prophecy, and with Will's theory, it wasn't hard to figure out what it really meant.

"The sphere is Rambaldi's endgame; it is his greatest accomplishment. Inside is something that could redefine so much of what we know, through technology and medical sciences. The CIA wants the sphere in order to research what it contains, to try and harness that power and put it to their use. The Covenant wants the same thing, to use it for their benefit – it or whatever it leads to. Neither of them can be allowed to access it."

"What's inside the sphere?" Katya didn't respond for a long moment. She looked out over the ocean, seemingly lost in her thoughts. Eventually, she turned back to me, her expression serious.

"Rambaldi."

OOOOO

It was the next afternoon before anyone even bothered to come down to the holding cell area and explain what happened in Russia. And, even then, I didn't see Jack or Dixon or any of the NSC agents that were present at the raid on the building. However, I was relieved to see Will and know that he and Weiss had indeed escaped capture. The NSC probably questioned them like the band of freelancers that was with us, and released them when they convinced counter-intelligence that this wasn't their plan.

"Hey," he said, nodding a little. "This was the first chance I had to come down here, sorry. Counter-terrorism was all over me."

"That's fine," I assured him, standing and going over to the bars. "What did they tell you?"

"Not a lot," Will answered. "That the NSC received a tip about a possible terrorist attack on a facility in Russia. That there were two CIA operatives, gone rogue, who they needed to apprehend and stop before this act took place. The NSC was sent to arrest you and Sydney, and whoever was collaborating with you."

"But they didn't suspect you or Weiss?" I asked.

"No. One of the freelance agents gave them Brill's name, but they couldn't find him. It's like the guy just disappeared."

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," I stated. After my short meeting with Brill, I didn't doubt that he would already have a plan in place in case things went wrong. He probably knew the NSC would follow us before we did. "What about Jack?"

"Haven't seen him," Will replied. "I asked Dixon, and all he told me was that he went on some recon mission and never made contact. Hasn't been heard from since."

"He's gotta be the one that tipped off the NSC."

"I'll look into it."

"What about Sydney?" Will sighed, shaking his head a little.

"No idea," he answered. "But, they've got teams all over it. NSC, CIA… They tracked the woman that took her to the airport and lost the lead. Apparently, we got one of the guys that was helping her, but he's not talking. Who was that woman?"

"Katya Derevko."

"Derevko?"

"Yeah. Irina Derevko's sister." Will nodded a little. "She tried to kill me a few weeks ago." Will looked surprised at this.

"Is Sydney safe with her?"

"I seriously doubt it."

"What can I do to help?" he questioned.

"We need to find out where they went." He nodded a little, and I could see that he was already trying to figure out what the best way to go about tracking Katya would be. "And I need to get out of this cell."

"The guard is coming." Both of us looked over at Olivia Reed. _Damn, I forgot about her_, I cursed myself instantly. If she said anything to the guard, Will would shortly be occupying the cell right across he hall. The man rounded the corner, his attention on Will.

"Mister Tippin?" he asked.

"Yeah, just another minute," Will replied. The man nodded a little, and left again. Will looked back at me. "I'll get Marshall to help. He knows what's going on."

"Thanks." Will nodded, and then he was gone. I looked over at Olivia.

"You're wondering why I didn't expose your plan," she stated. Not in the mood for another argument, I just nodded. "I'll make you a deal, Agent Vaughn."

"What?"

"I'll give you information you need. About the Covenant, about where Irina Derevko is and what she's doing, what they want the Sphere of Life for. In exchange for that and for my silence regarding that little meeting, you will help me with something."

"What do you want, Olivia?" She smiled.

"I want safe passage. Get me out of this cell and out of the country, away from the CIA, and I will do whatever I can to help you rescue your precious Sydney." I didn't respond. "You did shoot Lauren protecting her, did you not?"

"All right," I stated, evidently catching her by surprise. "Deal."

OOOOO

"Rambaldi?" I questioned, disbelievingly. Katya nodded. I shook my head, brushing my hair back out of my eyes as the wind ruffled it. "They burned him at the stake as a heretic."

"On the day of Milo Rambaldi's execution, guards escorted a man wearing a black hood out into the center of the town, tied him up, and burned him to death. The townspeople believed Rambaldi was a sorcerer – that if he could look them in the eye, he would place a curse on all of them for what they did," Katya explained.

"So you're saying the man they killed that day _wasn't_ Rambaldi?" I asked.

"No. The man was one of his followers, a guard at the jail where they kept him before his execution," Katya replied. "Rambaldi escaped, and he locked himself inside his greatest creation so that he could return to the world when the time was right."

"Rambaldi is inside the Sphere of Life," I replied, noting that the words sounded completely ludicrous. "Still alive."

"Until the sphere is opened, yes," Katya replied. "It's another of the prophecies inside the Rambaldi manuscript. When the sphere is opened, Rambaldi will deliver a message, to one of two individuals. That message will lead to the source of his 'greatest power'."

"The Sphere of Life isn't the greatest power?" I questioned, confused.

"No. There is another artifact – the source of all of this. The things Rambaldi prophesized, the technology he used to build his artifacts and leave us with a way to bring them back together now."

"What is it?"

"No one knows." She paused for a moment. "Sydney, there are only two people that Rambaldi will reveal his message to. That is why I never intended to kill you, why I saved you from being arrested by the NSC."

"Because I'm one of them," I finished for her. "One of the people that can receive the message."

"Yes," Katya replied. "The other is your sister." She paused, letting that sink in.

"That's what it means," I finally said. "'The Passenger and the Chosen One will battle, and neither will survive.' Nadia and I will fight to the death over Rambaldi's message."

"I could not allow that to happen until I had the chance to explain everything to you," Katya said. "When Mister Sark told me that you may know the location of the facility where the sphere was kept, I told Irina to leave, to take the sphere with her."

"Instead of just destroying it?" I asked.

"You can't destroy it," Katya replied. "The energy released, if you and Agent Vaughn succeeded in Russia, would level the entire city. The only thing to do is to open it and be the one to receive the message – to keep it away from the Covenant."

"Why are you telling me this? If you and my mother work together, why reveal all of this information now?"

"To stop the prophecy from coming true," Katya replied. "The same reason why I took you away from that facility in Russia. Your father wanted the same thing, he just went about it differently."

"Where is my father? What part does he play in all of this?" I questioned.

"The only thing I can tell you now is that he is with Irina. The two of them are waiting for us to make contact and go to the Sphere of Life."

"And if I refuse to cooperate?"

"Then you will spend the rest of your life in an NSC jail cell."


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **No chapter 22 reviews have been received yet, so... Yeah. Sorry that the story has slowed down a bit. I do have some more twists and turns in store, so I hope people are still interested! Here's the next chapter, please review. The songs are "Crawlin" by Linkin Park, and "Hang On" by Seether.

OOOOO

After explaining everything – or as much as she wanted to explain at the time – to me, Katya insisted on giving me some time to think over what was going on. I wasn't interested in cooperating – not yet anyway. So, she gave me everything I needed to contact her, saying I could stay at her safe house as long as I wanted.

And then she left.

For a while, I couldn't get over that thought. Katya _let _me _go_. After trying to kill me and telling me that she needed me as part of her endgame, she walked away. Of course, it wasn't like I could do much. The second I returned to Los Angeles, The NSC would arrest me. I couldn't try to contact anyone, or the NSC might track me here.

Truthfully – and this didn't happen often – I was at a loss.

I didn't know what the end of all this was. I didn't know where to turn, who I could trust. I needed someone to strategize with, and I would usually go to my father or Vaughn. Unfortunately, my I could no longer trust my father, and the NSC arrested Vaughn and took him back to the states.

_Crawling in my skin  
__Consuming all I feel  
__Fear is how I fall  
__Confusing what is real_

I needed to start with what I already knew. Katya, my mother, and my father worked together. The three of them all worked for different agencies. My mother ran the Covenant, my father was a senior officer in the CIA, and Katya was highly ranked in the Russian SVR. All three of them manipulated things, giving me the illusion that I was in control when I really wasn't.

Their endgame was obviously to reach whatever Rambaldi called his 'greatest power'. To use it to do something, but what? Katya told me even she didn't know what it was they searched for all this time.

It struck me, suddenly, that it might be easier to give them the code and be done with it. Maybe the prophecy was right, and it was my destiny to destroy something powerful, something that _wasn't_ bad. Maybe _I _was the bad guy all along.

_There's something inside me  
__That pulls beneath the surface  
__Consuming, confusing  
__This lack of self-control  
__I fear it's never ending  
__Controlling, I can't seem  
__To find myself again  
__My walls are closing in_

As soon as that thought occurred to me, I tried to push it away, telling myself that idea didn't make any sense. But, it wouldn't go away. I couldn't help thinking – what if I really was the bad guy? If Rambaldi was right, if everyone manipulated me to keep me from destroying something the rest of the world wanted to protect…

It seemed to make sense. I had Followers of Rambaldi try to kill me in the past, wanting to stop me from reaching Nadia so I couldn't stop them from getting the Sphere of Life. I wanted to believe that it was ridiculous. That I would _never _be working against the very thing I thought I was fighting for.

But, I thought that once before. When my father told me the truth about SD-6. I couldn't believe I worked for the _enemy_.

But then why did they try to kill me?

_Without a sense of confidence and  
__I'm convinced  
__That there's just too much pressure to take  
__I've felt this way before  
__So insecure_

My first inclination was to give up. To go to Los Angeles and let the NSC arrest me. Give the code for the Sphere of Life to my father, and let them do whatever they wanted. My mother told me I was destined to stop Sloane – not my father. Sloane seemed a small part of this now. An afterthought.

I could stop the prophecy, couldn't I? I could refuse to participate in all of this and bring the entire thing to a grinding halt.

Or could I?

_Crawling in my skin  
__Consuming all I feel  
__Fear is how I fall  
__Confusing what is real_

I didn't know anymore. I didn't know what to do, where to go, who I could talk to about all of this. I didn't even know who was on what side of the fight. Was this the right thing, or did I work, once again, _against _what I should fight for?

And what about Rambaldi? I was one of the people that could receive his message – one of two that could open the Sphere of Life. That made two outcomes. Did that mean right and wrong?

Was it really that simple? If I opened the sphere, instead of Nadia, would something different happen? Or did it even matter? Did I finally have the truth, or did Katya keep playing me, regaining my trust for whatever reason she needed it this time?

_This doesn't make any _sense  
_Discomfort endlessly  
__Has pulled itself upon me  
__Distracting, reacting  
__Against my will  
__I stand beside my own reflection  
__It's haunting, how I can't seem  
__To find myself again  
__My walls are closing in_

I needed to get back to Los Angeles. Maybe I could find a way to bargain with my father or Dixon or the NSC – whoever the hell ran things over there at the moment. If I came in, I wouldn't be taken into custody, because I would refuse to tell them anything if they locked me up.

I couldn't contact Katya yet. I only had one option at this point – find someone I could trust. Someone that would help me sort out what Katya said to me about Rambaldi and the Sphere of Life and the prophecies.

Help me figure out if I _was _the very thing everyone intended to stop.

_Without a sense of confidence and  
__I'm convinced  
__That there's just too much pressure to take  
__I've felt this way before  
__So insecure_

So, after checking over the house and figuring out exactly where I was, I called Dixon.

"I want to cooperate," I stated, after telling him where I was and that I was alone. "I'll let you bring me in, but if you lock me away in some cell, I swear to god I'll never tell you where the Sphere of Life is, or anything I know."

Before he could either agree or argue, I hung up.

_Crawling in my skin  
__Consuming all I feel  
__Fear is how I fall  
__Confusing what is real_

And then I waited.

OOOOO

It was the middle of the night when I returned to the Rotunda. Dixon was there, looking a bit more rested than the last time I saw him. He obviously felt relieved that I called him and came in, rather than disappearing. He took me right into his office, insisting that I wasn't a terrorist and the two NSC guards could wait outside.

"I didn't want to come in, but I don't think that anyone else can help me," I said, sitting down and keeping all my senses on high alert. I wanted to be aware of the first sign of trouble.

"Considering the NSC's belief that you and Vaughn are terrorists and the fact that Jack Bristow disappeared after tipping them off, obviously incorrectly, I'm glad you're here," Dixon answered. "Do you know where he is?"

"With Irina Derevko – that's all Katya would tell me," I replied.

I spent a short time explaining what happened. I left out all of the information that Katya gave me, knowing that it was my only card to play in making deals. Dixon listened patiently, but I could see he wanted more than I offered.

I did, however, include the knowledge that my father was a Follower of Rambaldi.

"How long have you known this?" Dixon questioned, seeming surprised.

"A few days. The only reason I didn't tell you was because when I told my father I would have him arrested for what he did, he threatened me. Obviously, he made good on that threat," I stated, glancing back over my shoulder at the door where the two NSC guards kept a very close watch on Dixon and I.

"What did Katya tell you?" I shook my head a little.

"I will tell you everything," I insisted. "But first, I have to know that this entire field office puts the blame where it belongs – on my father. Not on me, and not on Vaughn."

"Sydney, I believe you, and the Intel you have from Katya Derevko may be enough to secure your own immunity. But the NSC will not be so quick to release Agent Vaughn from custody," Dixon replied.

"Fine. Lock me up in the cell right next to him," I stated. "And you can tell the NSC that. I'm not giving you _anything _if you plan to keep him locked up for _my _plan." Dixon sighed, realizing that I would not change my mind about this one. Finally, he picked up the phone.

"This is Director Dixon," he said once the call connected. "I need you to release Agent Vaughn and escort him up to my office at once." He hung up the phone and looked over at me expectantly.

"Katya told me that she works with Irina Derevko and my father, in search of opening the Sphere of Life and receiving a message. That message will lead to the source of Rambaldi's power – his prophecies, his technology – everything," I began, seeing that Dixon clearly ran out of patience.

Before I could continue, however, his phone rang. He answered it, face darkening as he listened. After a moment, he hung up and stood, ignoring me for the time being and leaving the office.

I followed him into the surveillance room, looking at all the camera monitors. He punched up the images of the holding area. I saw Vaughn and Olivia Reed, in the two cells on the left side of the room. But, something appeared wrong with the image. It took me a moment, but I finally realized what it was.

The image was frozen.

Dixon sat down at the terminal, hitting several keys on the keyboard. The image flickered. The cell doors now stood open, there was a guard standing in the hall, and there was no sign of Vaughn or Olivia.

"Damn!" Dixon cursed, shaking his head as he stood. He looked over at me. "You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?" I looked back at him in shock.

"Of course not!" I replied. He nodded a little, and then looked out at the NSC guards, signaling them to enter the room and take me into custody. "Wait, Dixon, I didn't _do_ this!"

"Sydney, I'm sorry. I have no other choice," he stated. I glared at him for a moment, reaching a hand up to my ear and clicking on the small earpiece that I had hidden there before entering the building.

"Night Owl, this is Fox. Go plan B," I said. Dixon looked at me in surprise.

"Copy that Fox," Will's voice came back to me. "There in thirty seconds."

Before the NSC guards even stepped fully into the room, I spun around, catching them by surprise. Two sharp and well-aimed snap kicks disarmed both of them, and then I ran past them and straight outside.

Dixon yelled after me, and I could hear all three of them give chase. I flung the door open, jumping into the open side door of Will's van. He gunned the engine, and with the squeal of tires and the smell of burning rubber, we sped off down the street.

OOOOO

Olivia Reed and I made a bargain. She seemed convinced that I planned to honor that deal when I got Weiss to freeze the camera feeds for the Rotunda and let both of us go, taking us to the pier to get Olivia out of the country. She planned to stowaway on a cargo ship to South America.

_Well now I found myself  
__Wish I was someone else  
__My hands are stained with love  
__Wish I could take it away_

She stood on the edge of the pier. Her blonde hair floated around in the wind as she waited for the ship. Weiss parked the car off to the side of the area, and came to stand beside me.

"You know Dixon is gonna have us both dismissed, without merits, and probably arrested if he finds out what we did here. Helping a terrorist escape federal custody?" Weiss questioned, shaking his head a little.

But I wasn't really listening to him.

_I hid behind the shell  
__In time the pain will melt  
__My heart is stained with love  
__Wish I could fake it_

A few moments passed. Some workers milled around the dock aimlessly, and a few of them glanced over at the three of us curiously. I wanted to make sure none of them were watching us.

Finally, the ship arrived. Most of the workers wandered off, the rest going to start loading cargo onto the ship. Olivia turned to Weiss and I and brushed her hair back out of her face.

"Thank you for all your help," she said. She looked over at me, smiling cruelly. "Both of you."

_I gave my life away  
__There's nothing left to say  
__I gave my life away  
__You take it in your way  
__You take it in your way_

As she turned to go, I reached to the back of my pants, retrieving the service pistol I took from one of the holding cell guards during our escape. Weiss looked over at me in shock as I cocked the gun, raising it and aiming at Olivia.

"On your knees, put your hands on your head," I commanded, my voice completely level. Olivia turned back to us, looking almost amused at the sight of the gun in my hand.

"Vaughn, what the hell are you doing?" Weiss questioned.

"You heard me," I said to Olivia, completely ignoring Weiss.

_My selfish enemy  
__Still has the best of me  
__Empty and feeling numb  
__Wish I could take it away_

"What are you planning to do, Agent Vaughn?" Olivia asked, kneeling down and putting her hands on the back of her head, still smiling a little as she considered the situation.

"You really thought I would just let you walk away? After bringing you to the Rotunda, after you learned so much about our operations?" I asked, taking a step towards her. "I don't think so."

"Mike, you are looking at shooting an unarmed woman," Weiss tried again. "Don't do this."

"You won't compromise the CIA," I continued to Olivia.

_I can't control the need  
__Too weak to not concede  
__Wish I was deaf and dumb  
__Wish I could fake it_

"Come on, we'll go back to the Rotunda. I swear to god, I'll cover your ass, just do _not_ do this," Weiss continued.

"We go back and we're all in a cell," I snapped, finally responding to him rather than just ignoring him completely. "You know that."

"This is _not _self defense, it's _murder_!" Weiss shouted.

_I gave my life away  
__There's nothing left to say  
__I gave my life away  
__You take it in your way_

I knew Weiss was right. Shooting Olivia Reed could not be classified as self defense. She was unarmed, helpless, and this was practically first degree, pre-meditated murder.

"Give her your gun," I stated.

"_What_?" Weiss demanded, even more thrown off now. Olivia smiled a little, but there was no humor in her expression. It was the kind of smile one predator afforded another when the first admitted defeat.

"Take your gun and hand it to her."

_I gave my life away  
__There's nothing left to say  
__I gave my life away  
__You take it in your way  
__I can't pretend we're the same  
__I can't pretend we're the same  
__I can't pretend we're the same_

For a few minutes, no one moved. Olivia didn't make any kind of effort to escape. Obviously, she knew that I already made up my mind about how all of this would end.

The logic was simple. She was a terrorist. She compromised the Rotunda. Letting her go was out of the question. I couldn't go back without getting arrested again. Keeping her with us would jeopardize our safety and every mission we planned from here on out.

"No," Weiss finally said. "Mike, you have _lost_ it. Man, give me the gun."

"I won't ask you again," I replied, glancing over at him. "Give her a weapon."

"You're not dragging me into this," Weiss stated.

_Oh now I found myself  
__Wish I was someone else  
__My hands are stained with love  
__Wish I could fake_

"Fine," I replied, turning my attention back to Olivia. She grinned.

"You've made up your mind," she stated, shrugging again as she echoed my thoughts from just a moment ago. "Go ahead. Put an end to this. My husband and my daughter are already dead. Finish it."

"Do _not _listen to her. You know what's gonna happen if you kill her? They'll throw you in _prison_!" Weiss pleaded.

_I gave my life away  
__There's nothing left to say  
__I gave my life away  
__You take it in your way_

"You're right," I finally said. For a second, I realized how little emotion there was in my voice. This wasn't murder – I prevented a leak of information. Like putting a password on a document to keep other people from getting to it. I was so far walled off from any kind of feeling whatsoever that I rationalized this down to very basic, neutral, black-and-white principles.

It terrified me.

But that was only for a second.

"You're both right."

_You take it in your way  
__You take it in your way_

I pulled the trigger.


	24. Chapter Twenty Four

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Tine, daisyduke947, Eyghon, **and **Total Vaughn Lover **for reviews! Here's chapter 24, hope everyone is still enjoying this!! :-) The song I use in this one is "Complacent" by Assemblage 23.

OOOOO

"Yeah. We'll meet you there. All right." Will hung up the hotel room phone, looking over at me. "Weiss. He and Vaughn made it out all right."

"Good," I replied, sighing in relief. Will and I went to a small motel just outside LA after escaping from the Rotunda, needing a chance to get away from _everything _for a while until things settled down. It was morning, and Will tried to reach Weiss all night to make sure everything was okay. "Where are we meeting?"

"Weiss just said 'the old warehouse' and that you'd know where that is," Will replied. I smiled a little, nodding. The 'old warehouse' was where Vaughn and I used to meet to discuss my CIA counter-missions when I worked for SD-6. "We should get going." I nodded in agreement, and the two of us went to the warehouse.

Weiss was there in the main section of the warehouse, waiting for us. I could see Vaughn as well, off to one side of the area and seated in an old chair, staring blankly at the wall. Instantly concerned, I looked over to Weiss.

"What happened?" I questioned. He sighed, pausing a moment before he began explaining.

"He made a deal with Olivia Reed. She gives us information on the Covenant, kept what we were doing a secret, and when I broke Vaughn out of NSC custody, Olivia came along for the ride," Weiss explained.

"So, what, he's mad about having to let her go?" Will asked, obviously confused.

"No," Weiss replied. "We went to the pier, she planned to stowaway on a cargo ship." He paused for a moment. "She never made it to the ship. Vaughn shot her."

"Did she have a weapon somewhere?" I questioned. Weiss shook his head.

"No. He asked her to get on her knees and put her hands behind her head, and he shot her," he replied. His words practically knocked the wind out of me. "In cold blood. Her body fell into the water and he just walked off like it was _nothing_."

_Complacent, you're growing complacent  
__You forgot what it all meant  
__And chose a path of convenience_

After a moment, I glanced over at Will, and then left him to speak with Weiss. I went over to where Vaughn sat, approaching quietly so I didn't startle him. He glanced up and looked at me for a moment, and went right back to staring at the wall.

"Hey," I said quietly. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," he replied. He glanced back at Weiss, seeing that he and Will were both looking after us, wanting to see what happened. "I'm sure Weiss doesn't agree."

"He's just worried about you," I told him. He nodded a little, but didn't say anything. "We all are."

"I don't need everyone worrying about me," he finally said, looking directly at me for the first time. "Frankly, I'm getting a little sick of it."

_The road you took to where you're standing now  
__Was fraught with obstacles that tore you down  
__And made you drown_

"Maybe everyone wouldn't be so worried if you didn't act like you were two different people," I said quietly, not wanting to get Weiss and Will in the middle of the argument I was sure would flare up any second now.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he questioned, raising his voice despite the fact that Will and Weiss could already hear our conversation.

"I _mean_, sometimes you're the person I remember, from before all of this, and sometimes you act like _this_. Something's going on with you, and to be perfectly honest, it's _scaring _me," I said.

_The path of least resistance called your name  
__The status quo you tried hard to maintain  
__But it wasn't the same_

"It's not such a big deal," he insisted.

"Killing an unarmed woman isn't a big deal?" I questioned. He shook his head.

"What was I supposed to do? She knew where the Rotunda was, so letting her go was _absurd_. Taking her with us would be risking everything, and trying to go back to Dixon would just get all of us thrown back in a cell," he stated.

"You can't rationalize _murdering_ someone," I said again.

"Why not?" I looked at him in surprise. "I shot a terrorist so she wouldn't compromise our operations. Why does everyone make this into something it's not?"

_Sweet denial, take your leave  
__You must have others to deceive  
__I'm so tired of drifting backwards  
__Standing still  
__So throw the towel in if you must  
__Give up hope and give up trust  
__And I promise you'll drift backwards  
__Standing still_

"This wasn't about shooting a terrorist," I replied. "This is about getting revenge for what happened with Lauren."

"Why does everything have to be about her?" he questioned, shooting up out of the chair. "Just because Olivia Reed happens to be the mother of the woman who betrayed me doesn't mean this is about _revenge_!"

"That was why you took her into custody, isn't it?" I asked.

"God, why can't you just leave it alone for _once_?" he snapped, glaring at me. "You don't _know _everything – stop pretending you do."

_Something changed when you gave up  
__When you decided you had tried enough  
__The price was too much_

"Maybe I'd know what was going on if you would actually _tell _me!" I shouted. I didn't care if Will or Weiss was watching us – I was sick of the back-and-forth game Vaughn seemed to play with me. "If you're going to get mad at me for not being up front with you, you could at _least_ extend me the same courtesy."

"I _am _being up front with you," he shot back, looking at me seriously. "Olivia Reed was a high-ranking Covenant operative. I took her into custody to get information. We got Intel, and when I was faced with the decision to either let her go or kill her, I chose to protect the Rotunda and keep the Covenant from destroying the place. _How_ is that about Lauren?"

"Vaughn, there is _obviously _something _wrong_ here!" I stated. "I can help you make sense of all this, but you have to let me _try_ to help!"

"I can 'make sense' of it on my own, thank you."

_The inconsistencies seem plain to see  
__A swift departure from reality  
__How blind can you be?_

I didn't reply. It was clear that this got me nowhere. Despite how concerned I was, Vaughn wouldn't listen to me.

"Look, I don't want to get into all of this again," he finally said. "It's over, that's what matters. We got the information she promised us and she's out of the picture."

"Yeah, great," I said sarcastically. "Now all we have to do is stay in hiding until my father decides to come back from wherever he disappeared to, and hope that he tells the NSC to back of despite the fact he has no reason to do so. And hope they don't find out what really happened tonight, or you really _will _be arrested."

_Sweet denial, take your leave  
__You must have others to deceive  
__I'm so tired of drifting backwards  
__Standing still  
__So throw the towel in if you must  
__Give up hope and give up trust  
__And I promise you'll drift backwards  
__Standing still_

"You're going to tell Dixon." He looked over at me seriously. I sighed.

"I hoped _you_ would." He shook his head and turned away. "I can't just let them think she disappeared."

"Why _not_? It won't do any good to tell him the truth."

"I know you won't listen to me, but you need to talk to someone. Dixon, Barnett, I don't know. But this is _not _a good way to deal with what happened."

"I told you, stop _trying_ to make this about Lauren."

_Sung to sleep by sycophantic choirs  
__You prefer the company of liars  
__Who made you feel admired_

"You need help."

"No. I don't." I didn't reply, but my gaze told him I didn't believe him. "Fine. Everyone else already turned on me, why don't you just join in?"

_But one by one they turn their backs on you  
__The ranks of your detractors grew and grew  
__When they learned the truth_

"If that's how you see this, fine," I finally said, shaking my head and looking away in hopes to hide the tears in my eyes. "But I am _not_ going to stand here and watch while you _destroy _yourself."

He didn't reply. After a moment, I looked up at him, seeing that his face was still expressionless as he stared at me.

"I want this to work. You have _no_ idea how much I want this to work. But… If seeing you like this is the price of that…?" I pressed my lips together, swallowing over the lump in my throat and turning away for a moment. "Then… I am truly sorry."

And with that, I walked away.

_Sweet denial, take your leave  
__You must have others to deceive  
__I'm so tired of drifting backwards  
__Standing still  
__So throw the towel in if you must  
__Give up hope and give up trust  
__And I promise you'll drift backwards  
__Standing still_

OOOOO

I couldn't go to Weiss's place. I didn't know where the NSC would look – where I could go that was safe, and I would not fall into custody. I knew I couldn't let that happen. I needed to figure things out, to try and sort through why, when I got close to anything about Lauren or the Covenant, I turned into a different person.

Sydney told me that – that I seemed like two different people. Of course, when I got away from all of it, when I had the chance to sit down and think straight, I realized how right she was.

But I couldn't do anything about that right now. I didn't know where she and the others went after leaving the warehouse. I wanted to go back to the Rotunda – I wanted to try and figure out what was going on, what Jack Bristow said that led to the NSC trying to arrest us. But, once I set foot in the door, they would throw me back in a cell. I couldn't _stand _that thought, and I didn't even know why.

I needed to go somewhere. I needed sleep, I needed somewhere safe that I didn't have to use a credit card to get into. Somewhere that I wouldn't leave any kind of a paper trail for the NSC to track.

Which was probably why I ended up back at my house.

I swore, over and over again, that I wouldn't come back to this place unless it was to clean out my things and sell the place. Of course, I already moved most of my stuff out. Some of it was at Sydney's, some of it was at Weiss's. Everything important to me wasn't in that house anyway.

For a long time, I wandered around inside. The memories overwhelmed me, and every one felt like a knife in my back. Lauren and I buying this place when we decided to move in together. Coming back here after we got married and went on our honeymoon to Europe…

The halls were lined with pictures. Shots of Weiss with us. Images of her, frozen in time. Smiling photographs. So many memories of a woman that didn't even exist – a character she created to seduce me and use me to further her own aims and investigations into Rambaldi, to give information to the Covenant.

I went into the bedroom. I hadn't set foot in there, aside from grabbing some clothes, since Lauren died. Since I killed her. I figured I might as well start looking at it like that – I killed my wife. Then I murdered her mother.

I stood in the doorway for a long moment. Everything was just as I left it. My side of the room was torn to pieces, the closet open and drawers half closed with things spilling out of them.

But the other side of the room was perfect. Just like always.

She didn't even bother to take any of her things when she realized I knew she was the Covenant mole. I walked into the room, opening the large dresser. Her blouses, sweaters, skirts… Everything just like it was.

Like she still lived here.

I stared at the clothes for a moment, completely lost. Then, before I really knew what I was doing, I started pulling all of them out of the closet, throwing them all onto the bed. Once I tore apart the closet, I turned to the drawers. Everything was thrown around the room, disorganized, torn apart.

In a fury, I moved out into the hall. I ripped the pictures off the wall, throwing them on the floor or into the living room. The sounds of shattering glass filled the house, the frames cracking and splintering as I hurled them in different directions.

I went into the kitchen. Everything got torn apart, ripped to shreds, broken, thrown around… I didn't even know why I did it; just that I wanted every piece of that life erased.

Like I erased Lauren.

Like I said I would.

After maybe half an hour, the entire place was in shambles. I stood in the center of the living room, panting and looking around at what I did. I broke _everything_. Glass covered the floor and even some of the furniture. But I still felt like I had to do something more – all of it was still here.

"I should set the place on fire," I said to myself.

"Seems like a fitting end to me." I spun around, shocked at the sound of that familiar voice.

There she was. Blonde hair spilling over her shoulders, that smile on her face… Her eyes shining brightly as she looked at me. I shook my head, swallowing thickly and trying to shake the image from my mind, because that was surely what it was. Some kind of apparition, something I imagined.

"I mean, after all of this, there's really no way you're going to clean it all up and sell the place," she said, stepping carefully over the broken glass and looking around at the destruction I caused. "I wouldn't want to clean it up either. It would take hours, especially by yourself."

"You're dead," I finally choked out, looking after her as she walked. She turned back to me, smiling.

"You did say you would kill me," she replied nonchalantly. "I learned to tell when you were lying. You said you would kill me and you did." She shrugged a little. It was like she spoke about the weather, or what to make for dinner. It was all so… Careless. Devoid of any emotion at all.

I pressed a hand to my face, trying to shake myself out of it. When I looked up, though, she was still there.

"I really _am _losing my mind," I stated, shaking my head a little.

"I told you there were risks to the Inferno Protocol," she replied with a shrug. "You had a chance to tell Sark and I about the Passenger, but chose to go the hard way."

"Wait… All of this has something to do with the Inferno Protocol?" I questioned. I followed her as she walked. She turned around, smiling a little.

"You were right," she said, glancing around again. "You should burn the place down."

"Answer me. What did you do to me?" She smiled again.

"You're asking the wrong person." She walked away, going into the kitchen. She opened one of the drawers, pulling out a box of matches and setting it on the counter. I watched her move and manipulate the environment like she was really standing right there in front of me.

"I don't understand," I finally confessed. Lauren smiled. She picked up the matches, coming over beside me and kissing me on the cheek. She handed the matches to me.

"You don't need to."

And then, she was gone.

When she disappeared, I felt something, like I just woke up from a dream. I looked around. I was still standing in the kitchen, the box of large kitchen matches in my hand.

And there was that feeling again. That detached feeling.

I walked into the garage and picked up a container of gasoline. Lauren was right – I should burn the place to the ground. That was the best way to get rid of all this stuff. Maybe if I did that, I could start to move on. I could get away from all those memories, everything that happened here, and maybe get my life back.

So, I did it. I spread gasoline all over the furniture, choking on the smell. When I didn't have any left, I threw a match into the center of the living room. There was a 'whoosh' sound, and then the surface level of the furniture and the floor burst into flames.

"That's it," she said, leaning in over my shoulder. I glanced over at her. All the color drained out of my face. She was covered in blood, wearing the same clothes from Palermo. Her hair came loose became soaked in blood as well, and she smiled at me. I could see a hole in her cheek where one of the bullets hit her skin.

"Get away from me," I said, voice barely audible. I noticed I gasped for breath, and that the entire room filled with smoke. I glanced around. The entire room was on fire. The furniture, the walls… _Everything_.

"You know you'll listen to me," she continued. "You'll _always _listen to me."

I shoved her away, walking towards the hallway. The fire spread into the kitchen behind me – there weren't any other doors in the back part of the house.

I coughed because of the smoke, feeling it start to burn my eyes. I tried to breathe into the sleeve of my shirt, hoping to filter out some of the smoke. It was so dark in the house that I stumbled over something I threw into the middle of the hall during my rampage, crashing to the floor.

I cried out, feeling broken glass under my palms, cutting me. I heard things crashing down and exploding behind me, knowing the windows in the living room just shattered. Every time I took a breath I started to cough, fighting for oxygen in the thick black smoke that rolled over my head. _The house is on fire._

_The house is on fire and I am trapped._

Lauren lauhghed. I could hear her laughter, echoing in my head and through the rest of the house. I crawled into the bedroom, kicking the door shut and coughing until my chest hurt.

And, as I lay there, fighting to breathe and feeling the heat of the fire following me into the room, I started to think…

Maybe Sydney was _right_.

OOOOO

**A/N: **Just as a note, I wrote the above chapter before seeing Authorized Personnel Only, and had absolutely no idea that the writers on the show were going to have Vaughn burn his house down. I'm just mentioning it so no one thinks I'm taking their ideas - I swear I didn't! :-) Okay. Please review!!


	25. Chapter Twenty Five

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Total Vaughn Lover **for reviewing chapter 24!!

**Missing  
**EPISODE 4.07

I didn't hear from Weiss until the next morning.

Honestly, that concerned me. After everything with Vaughn – the way he acted at the warehouse the night before, what Weiss said about him murdering Olivia Reed like that – I wasn't sure what was going on anymore.

Will and I left the warehouse shortly after our argument, and I told Weiss to keep an eye on Vaughn. I wanted to talk to Doctor Barnett at the Rotunda, to try and find some way to sort all of this out. The problem was, I couldn't go back there without being arrested. So, hearing from Weiss the next morning relieved some of that worry.

"Hey," I said when I answered my cell phone.

"Good morning to you, too," Weiss replied sarcastically, sounding exhausted. "How are you guys doing?"

"All right," I replied with a sigh. "You?"

"Tired," Weiss stated. "But, I'm sure you already figured that one out." I smiled, nodding but not saying anything.

"What about Vaughn?" Weiss didn't reply right away, which immediately made me worry. "Weiss? Is he there?"

"No," he replied. "I tried to talk to him last night. He got totally pissed and stormed off, I have no idea where. I've looked everywhere for him, but there's no sign. Anywhere."

"We've got to find him before something else goes wrong."

Before either of us could say more, I heard Will calling to me. I went back into the main room of the motel room the two of us shared – I was standing near the door to talk to Weiss. He turned the television on when I left the room, and I could see a picture of a house, mostly burnt and collapsed, firefighters roaming all over.

"What? What's going on?" Weiss asked, thrown off by my sudden silence. I didn't reply, listening to the television.

"The report came in around four AM this morning that this residence was apparently the victim of arson," the anchorwoman said. "Police found empty containers of gasoline in the living room, and while it doesn't appear to be a robbery at this time, the belongings not consumed by the fire were left in a state of disarray."

The picture zoomed out, showing the names of the streets where the house was located. I nearly dropped the phone, my breath freezing in my chest. Will looked over at me, eyes widening with surprise when he saw the expression on my face.

"What?" he asked.

"That house…" I trailed off. I knew that house. I never set foot inside, but I drove past it several times in the last year.

"Sydney, what the hell is going on?" Weiss questioned.

"Weiss, meet us at Vaughn's," I stated, hanging up the phone. Will looked over at me, confused.

"Is something wrong?" Will asked again. I looked over at him.

"That's _Vaughn's _house."

OOOOO

It took Will and me less than fifteen minutes to get to Vaughn's house. Police and firemen wandered around all over the place. The fire finally went out, but there was practically nothing left of the house. The fire gutted the place, all of the walls black and crumbling. Even the lawn burnt in the blaze. The fire shattered all of the windows, and broken glass covered everything.

Weiss pulled up a moment later. He took one look at the house and his face fell. The three of us were slightly down the street from the place, not wanting to attract too much attention, just in case.

"What the hell?" Weiss asked, looking over at what very little was left of the house. "What _happened_?"

"The news said it was arson. Gasoline everywhere," Will replied. Weiss shook his head, sighing deeply.

"Was anyone inside?" he questioned.

"They don't know," Will answered. He glanced over at me, but I didn't say anything.

I leaned against the front of Will's van, eyes locked on the remains of the house. And, for some reason, I didn't need to ask any of the firemen running back and forth what happened here. I already knew.

Vaughn left Weiss at the warehouse. He was angry with both of us after everything. So, he came here, hoping to stay away from us and from the NSC. And, for whatever reason, he set the place on fire.

Was this what it felt like for him? Driving back to my house and seeing that it was on fire? Just waiting, frozen outside even though there was a good chance I was still inside…?

Thinking that he watched me die?

"Syd?" I glanced over, startled when I heard Will's voice. "Are you okay?" I nodded a little, unable to say anything, and looked back at the remains of the house.

"Can I help you?" All three of us looked over at the two policemen that approached, looking at us curiously. The three of us, in our old thrift store clothing, looking like we hadn't slept in weeks, probably made quite a picture.

"One of my friends lives here," Weiss stated, thinking quickly. "We heard about it on the news. His name is Michael Vaughn." One of the officers nodded, and the other returned to the commotion, obviously leaving the explaining to his partner.

"There weren't any signs of forced entry," the man stated. "Was your friend having some kind of a fight with a spouse or friend, or having trouble with anyone in particular? Anyone that would have access to the house?"

"No," Weiss replied, shaking his head a little.

"Was there anyone inside when this happened?" I questioned, suddenly finding my voice and looking up at the officer. He sighed, silent for a long moment. He couldn't keep eye contact – I recognized that as a bad sign.

"We don't know yet," he answered. "Whoever set the place on fire tore it apart first. We're having some trouble getting through some of the debris and back to the bedroom. We do have a report from a neighbor that someone came home and the house caught on fire. She never saw anyone leave."

I raised a hand to my face, trying to breathe and hide the fact that tears were only seconds away from streaming down my cheeks. Will put a hand on my shoulder, trying to be comforting.

"Thanks," Weiss said quietly.

"We'll let you know when we know something for sure," the officer stated. Weiss gave him a cell phone number that he could use to contact him, and then the officer walked away.

"Come on, we should go," Will said all of a sudden. I looked up, seeing a couple of black sedans pull up right at the curb. Three men got out of the first one, all dressed in black suits.

NSC.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here," Weiss agreed.

OOOOO

I opened my eyes, and all I could see was a bright white light. I tried to move away from it, but as I started to move, I started coughing. My chest exploded with pain, and the more I coughed, the worse it got. The light dimmed suddenly, and I felt someone beside me.

After a moment, I was finally able to catch my breath. Someone put a hand on my shoulder, surprising me. I jerked away, falling to the floor and realizing I woke up on a couch.

"Calm down, son, I'm not gonna hurt you." Blinking several times to clear my head, I looked up and saw Thomas Brill, leaning against the back of the couch and smiling down at me in amusement.

"Where am I?" I asked, my voice hoarse and dry from all the smoke I inhaled. Smoke…

The house. _My _house.

"My place in Virginia," Brill replied. He stood, walking around the couch and to the small kitchen table in the next room. He picked up a bottle of water, handing it off to me. I took a long drink, thankful for the cool relief on my already raw throat. "That was a right stupid thing you did – setting your own house on fire."

"That wasn't… I mean…" I shook my head, pressing tiredly on my eyes.

"Don't try and make sense of it. It'll only make your head hurt worse," Brill stated. He handed me a couple of Advil, which I swallowed gratefully. "You should be glad I was in the area."

"What _happened_?" I questioned. "How did I get here?"

"After seeing you in the park, I was keeping an eye on you. Making sure you didn't do anything stupid," Brill said with a laugh. He pulled a chair over from the kitchen table and sat down. "Guess it paid off, didn't it?"

I didn't reply.

My house burned down. I… My eyes wandered off to the side of the room. What happened? Why didn't I remember what _happened_? I had a box of matches… A can of gasoline… My eyes widened as I realized what I did.

"I set the place on fire," I stated, looking over at Brill. He nodded a little, sighing deeply.

"Yeah. You did," he replied.

"But… _Why_?" He shrugged.

I thought for a minute. I remembered the gasoline can… I got it out of the garage; I had a box of matches from the drawer in the kitchen. I didn't remember getting into the drawer… The house caught fire, smoke filled the rooms… I got into the bedroom, and I collapsed. Someone laughed at me…

_Lauren!_

That was it. I went back to the house, I was looking for somewhere safe to stay, somewhere away from Weiss and Sydney and the NSC. And then… Lauren was there. She handed me the matches, she told me to burn the place down. She stood right next to me, laughing. She said something about…

"The Inferno Protocol," I stated, looking up at Brill. "When I was at my house, she… It was something about the Inferno Protocol." He didn't say anything. "Do you know anything about that?"

"This is going to be hard to hear," Brill stated. He looked at me for a long moment. "But, I can't see waiting any longer. I'll explain."

OOOOO

By the time Will and I got back to the motel we were using as a safe base of operations, NSC agents crawled all over. They found some way to follow us there. None of them saw the van as we passed right by the place, thankfully, continuing on until we came to an abandoned factory in the bad part of town, under the highway. Will pulled the car over, killing the engine and swearing loudly, smacking the steering wheel in his anger.

"We're screwed," he stated, looking over at me. I nodded a little. He sighed, softening immediately. "I'm sorry. We shouldn't have left last night – that was a dumb thing to do."

"I can't believe this is happening," I stated after several minutes. Will nodded, agreeing. "You're not even supposed to be in Los Angeles, my father works with the _enemy_, and the NSC wants to arrest me. And Vaughn…" I didn't finish.

"Yeah," Will stated. "Okay. We need a plan. A good plan, we need… _Something_."

"I know." There was another pause. I took a deep breath, focusing on something I might be able to solve. "We're not going to get anywhere by trying to cooperate with the agency – we already know that. Because of the NSC, and the fact that not even Dixon will listen to me after yesterday. Contacting Katya Derevko is the _last _thing I want to do, but she and the others might be able to give us some answers. At least point us in the right direction. Maybe if I contact my father, we can get the NSC to back off."

"Right," Will replied with a little nod. There was a long pause, and then he looked over at me seriously. "Syd, if you wanna talk-"

"I can't," I interrupted, shaking my head. "There's so much going on…" I paused, and then looked over at him. "The agency trains agents to compartmentalize information. Until we can get the NSC to stop chasing us and get back to the Rotunda, find out what happened… We don't know anything for sure. And, I have to focus on something I can actually figure out. At least for now."

"Okay," Will replied, understanding. "So, should we try to and talk to your father?"

"I think so," I said. I ran one hand back through my hair, yawning tiredly. "I wish I knew what to do. What we could say to him to make him listen. If there's even a way to do that."

"We can't talk the NSC down without getting to him. So, let's start there."

I nodded in agreement. I went for my phone, but before I could try and contact Katya, Weiss called.

"What's going on?" I questioned.

"I just talked to the police," he said, sounding out of breath.

"What did they say?" I asked, looking over at Will. He rose his eyebrows in question, but didn't say anything.

"They finished searching the house. No one was inside when the place burned down," Weiss stated. "He's alive."


	26. Chapter Twenty Six

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Gils, Tine, SuperDuck123,** and **dasiyduke947** for the chapter 25 reviews!! The website has been acting up lately, so if you send a review and don't get a thank you it's because it's not showing up on my computer. :-( At least it hasn't made any of my updates disappaer, so I'm glad about that! Anyway, here's more for you, enjoy and please keep reviewing!! :-)

OOOOO

"Three senior officers at Langley developed the Inferno Protocol a little over four years ago," Brill began. "They use it for unrestricted interrogation of those suspected of terrorist activity, as a certain way to obtain information without leaving physical evidence on a person. A lot less work for a lot more payoff – that's the way they market it to other agencies."

"And somehow Lauren got access to that through the NSC," I replied. I had gotten up off the floor and onto the couch again, setting the bottle of water down on the coffee table in front of me.

"Probably," Brill replied. "Now, the protocol was useful for not leaving any _physical _evidence on the victim. But, shortly after they developed it, the Board of Directors classified it as a last-resort protocol because of the potential for psychological effects on a person subjected to it."

"Effects like what?" I questioned.

"The protocol gathers information by putting the victim in a state of relaxation, reducing brain function to very basic principles. Simple questions and direct answers. It's a very vulnerable state for a person to be in, which leaves the avenues open for fast-acting psychological conditioning." My eyes widened. "There's a good chance that, when Lauren Reed tortured you and subjected you to that protocol, she used some form of conditioning on you."

"Would that be what's doing this?" I questioned. "Forgetting what happened, seeing Lauren when I burnt the house down last night?"

"Probably," Brill replied with a nod. "Now, I can't tell you what she did, but whatever it was, it might take quite some time to reverse the process." I didn't respond. "Have you noticed anything else strange? Thoughts you aren't familiar with, emotions coming from nowhere?"

"No, nothing like that," I replied. "But… Last night. Before I went back to the house, I was…" I trailed off. Was it really safe for me to start telling him all of this?

"Anything you say to me isn't going to leave here," Brill assured me, sensing the reason for my hesitation. "It's not like I've got anyone I could tell that kinda thing, you know?" He smiled a little, trying to make me feel comfortable in this completely irrational situation.

"Yeah," I agreed, looking down at the table. After a long moment, I looked back at him. "I killed someone." He rose his eyebrows, surprised, but didn't say anything. "I mean, I've shot people before. But… This wasn't even self defense. She was unarmed and I shot her, let her body fall off the pier and into the water."

"Who was she?" I paused again.

"Lauren's mother, Olivia Reed," I finally said. I shook my head in disbelief, thinking back on the night before.

Weiss saw what I planned to do. He told me it was murder; that the agency would throw me in prison for shooting an unarmed woman. Killing in her cold blood. I told him to hand her a weapon. Fake it. Make it _look_ like self-defense.

"Sometimes, everything's fine," I stated after a long pause. "It's like I accept what happened and I can move on with my life. Yeah, it still hurts to think about it, but I'm dealing with it. And then, it's just…"

"All of a sudden, you're not," Brill stated. I nodded. "Something changes." I didn't say anything. "Whatever that's related to, that's probably what sets off the conditioning. One second, you're you, the next, you're programming. Whatever Lauren Reed set up during the Inferno Protocol."

"Why don't I remember any of this?" Brill shrugged.

"It's hard to say," he replied after a moment. "She could have added that into the programming, the protocol could have made you lose consciousness – any number of things." I nodded again, looking away.

Loss of consciousness.

Once Sark figured out where Nadia was, he told Lauren to kill me. I didn't remember most of that, thankfully, but I did remember hearing Sark ask Lauren to kill me. And I remembered that she listened. The next thing I remembered was waking up in the hospital.

Did Lauren come back after Sark left? I didn't have any idea how long it took the CIA to find me – how long it was before Weiss and the task force found the building and broke in, getting me out before the overdose Lauren gave me really _did _kill me. It could have been five minutes, but it could have been an hour. She could have come back and…

I shook myself out of it after a moment. Whatever happened, for the moment, I didn't have any actual answers. Trying to imagine what _might _have happened would only make things worse.

"I can't answer all your questions for you," Brill stated, looking at his watch. "And, to be perfectly honest, we're running a little low on time."

"Time for what?" I asked.

"We're both wanted men. Until one of us can make contact with Jack Bristow, the NSC wants anyone involved with that little escapade in Russia locked in a cell, until they figure out just what happened," Brill explained. He stood, massaging one sore knee a little as he did. "I've got to get going."

I didn't try and argue with him. It wouldn't take the NSC long to figure out that someone came to my house when I set it on fire, and took me away before I died in there. Once they knew that, it wouldn't take a genius to track Brill here.

"Feel free to stay here as long as you like. You'll find a plane ticket in the desk drawer in the office, to get back to LA. I recommend waiting until things settle down a little, but god knows, you're not gonna listen to me anyway," he continued, going over to the door and grabbing his jacket. Despite myself, I smiled a little because I knew he was right.

"Thanks," I said. He glanced back at me, nodding. And then, without another word, he left the house, closing the door behind him.

OOOOO

"Okay," I said to Weiss and Will, who both sat in the back of the van with me. The three of us finally decided that getting in contact with Katya Derevko was the best option, as that would lead us to my father, and give us a way to escape the NSC for a while. "When Katya took me away from the facility in Russia, she gave me a protocol to use to contact her – to set up a meet so that we could go to my mother and father."

"I still can't believe they're all in this together," Weiss stated, shaking his head a little. "It just doesn't make sense."

"I know," I agreed. "But, if Katya can lead us to my father, that's the best option we have right now." Weiss nodded in agreement.

"What's the protocol?" Will questioned.

"Hand me your phone," I said to Weiss. Not bothering to question me, he handed me his cell phone. I pulled out the small piece of folded up paper Katya gave me, dialing the number she told me to use in order to contact her. "It's a voicemail box. I leave the right code there for her, and it routes the call through to her."

"And she wasn't worried that you'd give that information to the CIA and have her arrested?" Weiss questioned, looking a little surprised at Katya's willingness to give me that information.

"She knew I couldn't do anything with it," I answered. "My father tipped the NSC off to keep me from telling them any of this information."

"Turn on you before you turned on him," Will stated. I nodded a little.

"Well, _that's_ classic Jack Bristow," Weiss threw in. I smiled at that, knowing that my father either intimidated or frightened most of the other agents that worked at the Rotunda.

I turned my attention to the telephone as the voicemail picked up. I looked back down at the paper, dialing the confirmation code that Katya gave me – 9981384. I waited a moment, and then heard the re-routing click I wanted. The phone rang once, and someone answered.

"_Da_?" the voice said in Russian.

"I wish to speak with the manager concerning a merchandise return," I replied in the same language. Katya's instructions included a code phrase that I had to memorize – something to let her know it was me and that the line was secure.

"Hello Sydney," Katya replied. "I began to wonder if you would actually contact me."

"It turns out I think we can help each other," I replied.

"Yes, I counted on that," she said. Even on the phone, I could tell she was smiling. Will and Weiss both watched me anxiously, waiting to see whether or not this would work.

"I'll give you want you want. But you have to do something for me," I said.

"Tell Jack Bristow to call off the NSC investigation. Am I right?" she asked.

"Yes," I stated. There was a pause, and then I heard muffled speaking in Russian that was too rapid for me to follow. There were definitely two voices – probably Katya and my mother, discussing this.

"All right," she finally said. "Of course, this shouldn't be done over the phone – we should set a meet."

"Is that because you don't want me to give you the code on the phone or because you don't trust me to do so?" I questioned. Katya laughed.

"I believe it's a bit of both," she replied. "Irina would rather see you in person, and I'm the one that doesn't trust you to give us the code on the phone. Of course, you will do it in person, or we have the option of handing you over to the NSC."

"All right. Where's the meet?" I questioned.

"In Rome," Katya replied. "I'll have one of my associates contact you when you arrive at the airport. Of course, you will need a code phrase to make contact with him, let him know who you are."

"What's the code phrase?"

OOOOO

Weiss stayed behind in Los Angeles to deal with the NSC. He said he would turn himself into the agency, not admitting guilt for anything, but that they would want to question him about everything that happened and that would keep them busy enough not to follow Will and I to Rome.

I used a freelance asset to get us set up with aliases and disguises. I wanted a contact there, in case something went wrong, but I didn't have anyone there anymore. I had no idea if my father would be there at the meet. In a way, I hoped he was, so that I could deal with him face-to-face. And, also, I hoped he wasn't so that I wouldn't have to constantly think about what he might be planning.

The next afternoon, Will and I landed in Rome. He wore a pair of blue jeans and a brightly colored shirt, camera draped around his neck and carrying about four different maps of Italy. I had a light blue dress on, wearing a pair of thin wire-rimmed glasses that kept sliding off my nose, chestnut brown hair disguised under a short copper-red wig. I had a camera as well, a smaller digital one that looped around my wrist.

The word 'tourist' was the first thing that sprung to mind. 'Geek' was the second.

"Come on, darling, we've _got_ to go meet your relatives," I drawled in a slightly dulled version of a Texas accent. I wanted to come off as obnoxious, to keep most people from coming near us and noticing the slight flaws in our aliases, but not over-the-top and draw more attention to myself. It was a skill I had a lot of time to practice over the years working for SD-6 and the CIA. And I imagined, to some degree, the Covenant.

"Damn plane took so long to taxi, we're already late," Will replied, staying perfectly in character right along with me. I noticed, on the way out of Los Angeles, that he perfected his skills since the mission to Graz, because he was almost as good at this as someone trained by the agency. I had to wonder if Kendall had some hand in that, knowing that Will would get smack in the middle of all this again if he found something in Rambaldi's work.

"I know. I'm sure they won't mind," I assured him with a smile. He just shook his head a little, still seeming annoyed with the amount of time it took for the pilot to taxi around to the gate.

We moved through the airport, keeping our eyes open for anyone that looked suspicious. According to Weiss, the NSC probably wouldn't follow us to Rome for at least a day, as it would take some time to track us there and confirm that's actually where we went. This meant we had a little time, but I still didn't want to be caught off-guard, especially since we only had one chance to make this work.

"Ah, tourists," I heard a man say behind me. He had a thick Italian accent. I turned, seeing an older man, maybe in his mid-fifties, with graying hair under a black limousine driver's cap. He smiled brightly. "Can I interest you in a tour of the city?"

"We're actually running a bit behind," I replied, delivering my line smoothly from memory. "But if you could give us a ride to the Plaza, we would greatly appreciate it."

"Of course," the man replied, acknowledging the code phrase. "This way, please."

Will and I followed Katya's contact outside and into the back of a black limo. As I climbed in, it surprised me to see that Katya was inside. She smiled at me, looking over at Will uncomfortably.

"I didn't expect company," she said, looking him over.

"He's a friend," I shot back, my voice equally toneless. Will stayed out of the discussion. I told him on the flight, it would be easier on both of us if he didn't say much to Katya and the others. Again, I only took the precaution because he didn't know how to keep his emotions in check like I did.

"Of course," Katya replied. She nodded at Will and smiled politely, though I could tell she wasn't entirely comfortable with his presence. "I trust the flight was pleasant enough?"

"I want this worked out as quickly as possible," I stated matter-of-factly. Katya nodded in understanding.

"Jack and Irina are waiting for us at the facility where the device is being kept," she began. "I'm sure you understand that any further attempt to destroy the artifact will result in our contacting the NSC operatives stationed here in Rome, and you will be arrested immediately."

"Of course," I shot back a little sarcastically. I caught the small hint of a smile in one corner of Will's mouth, glancing over at him. His expression immediately vanished, leaving Katya with nothing.

"Your father will take the code from you and call the NSC off once we have it," Katya explained. "You will be able to return to Los Angeles without worry."

"What about what you said at your safe house?" I questioned. "That Nadia and I are the only ones that could open the Sphere of Life?"

"If you wish to participate, you'll have to take that up with Irina," Katya stated simply. I nodded a little.

"We're here," the driver said, pulling the door open.

"All right," Katya said, smiling at me again as if the two of us shared some kind of a private joke. "Let's go."


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Tine, Gils**, and **Eyghon **for reviewing chapter 26!! :-) This chapter is a little shorter - sorry but I wanted to end it where I did because it's funny! Anyway, enjoy and tell me what you think.

OOOOO

Before going back to Los Angeles without a clue as to what was going on at the Rotunda, and where the NSC was with their investigations, I tried to call Weiss. I wanted to make sure he knew I was all right, after the fire, and that I could return without being arrested.

Though, when I really considered it, I wondered if getting thrown back in that cell might benefit me somehow. It would provide me with the opportunity I needed to talk to Doctor Barnett; figure out what to do now that I knew what was causing the split-personality problem I currently experienced.

However, when I called Weiss, all I got was voicemail.

He didn't answer his cell phone. That could mean he didn't have it with him, or was sleeping or something. Seeing as it was the middle of the day, however, I doubted either of those options. Which only left me with one more.

The NSC had him.

It wouldn't take them long to figure out that Weiss and Will worked with Sydney and I, and that they came along on the mission to Russia to try and destroy the Sphere of Life. Once they came to that conclusion, they'd arrest both of them as well.

I couldn't try Weiss's line at the Rotunda – the agency could trace that one. So, after a little while, I was forced to give up trying to reach him and try and figure out my next move on my own. Something I wasn't entirely comfortable trying to do.

I couldn't just stay at Brill's safe house in Virginia. Of course, it would be rather easy to do so, and would take a lot of the pressure off me for trying to decide where I avoided the NSC or just turned myself in.

But, if I remained here, I'd never solve anything. And I couldn't just go the rest of my life hiding from the NSC and wondering whether or not Lauren really subjected me to some kind of conditioning.

So, despite my reluctance to place any trust whatsoever in the National Security Council, I called Dixon. I used Brill's landline, and to make sure the connection was secure, I dialed through dispatch. I knew the agency would trace the call – they traced the root of every call that was routed through dispatch, but figured that I could always leave the place and disappear into the city somewhere if I changed my mind.

"Dixon, it's Vaughn," I said when he answered the phone.

"Where are you?" Dixon questioned immediately, sounding annoyed but also relieved to hear from me.

"Trace the call – dispatch can tell you that better than I can," I stated.

"Vaughn, Weiss is here. He came in this morning, the NSC has him in questioning now," Dixon replied. I didn't say anything. "He told us about what happened last night. That he helped you escape from the holding cell."

"Yeah," I replied.

"And that Olivia Reed somehow escaped as well. She disappeared?" Dixon asked. _What? _I asked myself. _Why would Weiss say that? He was there, he knows what happened…_

He covered me. He said he'd cover for me – he must have chosen not to say anything until the NSC either found me or I came in of my own free will.

For a long moment, I didn't say anything. I had a way out of this – I could go along with the story Weiss fed Dixon and pretend that I knew nothing of what happened to Lauren's mother. If she turned up dead, they couldn't tie it back to me anyway.

_You idiot, what are you doing?_ I wondered. _Lie to Dixon and you'll just make things worse._ I smiled a little, realizing how the little voice in the back of my head started to sound a lot like Sydney.

"Vaughn?" Dixon questioned.

"She didn't disappear," I finally replied. "I killed her."

"There was a fight?" he asked. I sighed deeply, pausing for a moment again before I explained the whole thing.

"No," I stated. "I made her a deal – she gave me information and I would let her escape. Before she did, I shot her." Now it was Dixon's turn to be silent.

"She wasn't threatening you or Agent Weiss, or trying to escape custody?"

"No." Another pause.

"All right," Dixon finally said. "Am I to take this phone call as your wish to turn yourself over to the NSC?"

"On one condition," I replied.

"What?"

"I need to be evaluated by Medical Services," I stated. I took a deep breath, clenching my jaw and forcing myself to continue. "I have reason to believe I Lauren Reed subjected me to severe psychological conditioning, and that some of my actions recently may be the result of that." Dixon sighed.

"All right," he finally said. "I'll work it out."

OOOOO

When we arrived at the facility, one of the scientists working for Katya told her that Nadia left for a while, and probably wouldn't be back until the next afternoon or evening at the earliest. He also said that my parents were both running some tests on the device. So, the three of us had to wait to speak with them until the analysis ended. Katya led Will and I inside and upstairs to what looked like a living room, probably added once the place was put to use. Two people were already there, seated at a small table to the far right side of the room. One of them was Sloane.

The other was Sark.

Will stopped at the doorway when he saw Sark, his usually passive and friendly expression darkening. I saw that anger in his eyes – the same anger he showed me in Wisconsin when I told him that Allison Doren was still alive.

"Sydney," Sloane greeted me with a smile. He stood, coming over to where Will and I remained. I noted that he wore his glasses, obviously reading something when we entered the room. "It's nice to see you, as always." He looked over at Will. "And Mister Tippin. What a pleasant surprise."

Will didn't respond. I didn't know if that was because he listened to what I told him about not displaying emotion or saying anything that his whole 'group' could exploit, or simply because he was too angry to say anything. Sark got to his feet as well, nodding to the two of us but staying away.

"You two can wait here," Katya said with a smile. Before I could protest, she turned and exited the room, closing the door behind her.

"Please. Sit," Sloane offered, extending a hand back into the room. I glanced over at Will.

"I'm actually fine here," he said, trying to cover the anger he obviously felt towards Sark for having a hand in Francie's death.

"Of course," Sloane replied. "I feel I should apologize for the awkward situation we find ourselves in. I don't believe Katya intended for Jack and Irina to be away when you arrived."

"So you _were_ in on all of this," I stated after a long moment. Sloane looked up at me in question. "My recruitment into SD-6, my 'disappearance'? You helped engineer that. You used me as a pawn."

"Sydney, do you see yourself as a pawn?" Sloane asked. I looked at him for a moment, confused. "If that's how you view your role in all this, then you're simply allowing it to be so." I didn't respond.

"You seem relieved to find that your sister is not here," Sark threw in suddenly, changing the subject. "I'm sure you know she went against my orders in trying to kill you in Russia."

"No, but I'm sure you want me to believe that," I answered. Sloane smiled as he listened to our verbal sparring, and Will kept his gaze locked on Sark, not moving away from the door.

"Indeed," Sark replied, shooting a cocky smirk in my direction before sitting back down. I sighed in annoyance, turning my attention back to Sloane.

"You know the prophecy," I stated, ignoring the pain in the gunshot wound in my chest that suddenly came back to me at the mention of what happened with Nadia. "How can I be sure you're not here to try and kill me?"

"I may know the prophecy, Sydney, but you know the code," Sloane replied. "I need that code to access the sphere." He walked to a chair on the other side of the room, sitting down and folding his hands over his chest. "Where would your death leave us?"

"Does that mean you're going to let me go, or put a bullet in my head the second you have the code?" I shot back, not letting his seemingly logical argument phase me in the least. He grinned outright now, seeing that I wouldn't fall for his game.

"Why don't I leave that up to you?" he asked. I sighed, realizing he wouldn't tell me anything more. He paused for a moment, and then changed the subject again. "I must say, I am a bit surprised to see you and Mister Tippin here."

"And why is that?" I questioned.

"Well, one might think that odd, considering your… _Connections_ to Agent Vaughn," Sloane continued. I narrowed my eyes, clenching my jaw and not saying anything. "Tell me, how is he these days? I know he was with you in Zurich when we saw each other last."

There was another pause. I knew better than to say anything to Sloane. Anything I did say would just be turned against me, and I already hated him as it was. Making that worse could only end badly.

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter," Sloane continued with a small shrug. He looked directly at me, and I _knew _he wanted to anger me, and forced myself to try and control that.

What he said next, however, made that impossible.

"I'm sure Miss Reed took care of that problem for us, didn't she Mister Sark?" he asked, looking over at Sark. The grin on his face was sickening, and it hit me that Sloane knew something. _He did something to Vaughn!_

Suddenly, I found myself wishing that I listened to the advice I gave Will, about not reacting emotionally to anything that was said or done while we were here. I also found myself drawing the gun I hid in my boot, aiming it directly at Sloane.

"I should just kill you now," I hissed, rage making itself quite evident in my voice. I heard another gun being readied, and glanced over to see that Sark had a weapon trained on me.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he stated.

"Back off." I turned to Will, who retrieved a gun as well and aimed it at Sark. I looked back to Sloane, who was still smiling.

"You shoot me, Sark shoots you, and Will shoots Sark," Sloane stated. "I trust you realize how completely illogical this situation is."

"Tell me what the two of you did to Vaughn or I _will_ kill you," I shot back.

At that moment, the door opened.

All four of us looked back at the doorway as my father stepped into the room. He closed the door, turning and looking at the situation. Sloane seated on the far side of the room, me a few feet in front of him with a gun aimed at his chest. Sark off to my right, gun aimed at me, and Will just to the left of the door, his gun aimed at Sark.

But, rather than asking what was going on and panicking over what happened that led to this very strange situation, my father simply rose one eyebrow, his face still expressionless.

"Am I… Interrupting something?"


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Gils, Eyghon, dasiyduke947, **and **Total Vaughn Lover**! Really, I appreciate the continued feedback from you guys, even if most of it is the same thing!! :-) Anyway, here's the next chapter for everyone!!

OOOOO

After I talked to Dixon, the NSC sent a retrieval team to Virginia to bring me back to the Rotunda. They were much more polite this time, which was definitely not something the NSC was known for. But, I imagined Dixon said something to them about the psychological conditioning I mentioned, and they didn't want to do anything that could piss me off.

On the plane back to Los Angeles, I spent a lot of time thinking about what triggered that shift in my moods. What made me become that heartless and cruel person? The one that shot Olivia Reed, the one that burnt the house down, the one that yelled at Sydney? There was some common factor, but it might be something so small that I never picked up on it before.

If the episode that led to setting my own house on fire – while I was still inside, no less – told me anything, it was that Lauren definitely played some part in it. But was that simply because she was the one that programmed me, or was it something else? Did I remember hearing her voice the other times, like on the pier when I shot Olivia in cold blood?

I didn't remember, and just as Brill said, trying to sort all of it out just gave me a headache. Whatever conditioning Lauren subjected me to, she obviously didn't want me figuring it out. The worsening pain in my head probably got programmed as well to keep me from trying to figure it out. The harder I tried, the worse it became.

Because I was actually still in the country this time, the flight was rather short. The NSC team escorted me from the airport and back to the Rotunda, leading me directly to Dixon's office. Once there, the two NSC escorts left. I noted that one had a cast on his right wrist, and it was obviously new as he didn't quite know what to do with his injured hand.

"Have a seat," Dixon said to me as I came into his office. I did, waiting for him to ask me something before I just started explaining. All of the time spent trying to figure out what I was going through left me emotionally drained. "Thank you for deciding to come in."

"I told you I wanted to speak with MS," I finally said. Dixon nodded a little.

"I've already spoken with them," he replied. He picked up a file from his desk, handing it to me. "That's a file faxed over from your stay at the naval hospital, after what you endured with Sark and Lauren."

"You mean my torture?" I asked, looking up at him seriously. He nodded a little.

"Yes," he stated. I nodded, looking back down at the folder.

"And why are you showing me this all of a sudden?" I asked, opening the folder and looking at some of the information. The first sheet was a list of the injures I had when I came in. Wounds on my chest and stomach from the electricity conductor Sark used, bruises from the restraints, so on and so forth. I scanned down to the bottom of the page, and suddenly understood why Dixon showed me this.

'Evidence of psychological conditioning present – recommend immediate action to prevent further psychological damage.'

I closed the folder.

"MS already knew about your conditioning," Dixon explained, realizing that I read the note at the bottom of the page. "I chose not to say anything to you because I believed that it would compromise your mission to retrieve Nadia from Japan. If you knew that Lauren did something to you, you would be even more likely to jeopardize Sydney to go after her.

"I wanted the chance to explain it to you after Katya stabbed you, but you escaped the hospital and went to Palermo after Sydney," he continued. I duly noted that I was clutching the folder so hard the knuckles on my left hand turned white, and I started shaking. "Because of the recent revelations about Project Prodigy and Irina Derevko's involvement in all of this, I let this sit on the back burner. That was my mistake."

"You knew the entire time," I stated, nodding a little as I listened to what Dixon told me. I glanced over at him. "Before they even released me from the hospital?"

"Yes," he replied. I nodded.

"So, now what happens?"

OOOOO

The entire room remained silent for an uncomfortably long moment. Sloane was the only one still smiling, looking from me over to Sark, apparently amused with the turn of events. My father stepped further into the room, glancing at Will and I and then looking over at Sark as well.

"Sark?" he asked. "Please."

"Of course, sir," Sark answered without hesitation. Then, despite the fact that I had my gun trained on Sloane, and Will had a gun on Sark, he lowered his weapon, clicking the safety on and tucking it back into the holster attached to his belt. I couldn't believe that my _father_, of all people, had authority over Sark!

"Sydney, Will. If you wouldn't mind," he continued, looking back at Will and I. Will lowered his gun, now that Sark wasn't threatening me, but I kept my weapon trained on Sloane.

"If you're going to shoot me, Sydney… Shoot me," Sloane stated. My hand tensed on the gun, and his smile fell. For a second, he faltered. I smirked at his display of emotion, and lowered my gun. He smiled again, nodding a little to acknowledge that I fooled him with my bluff.

"Well, now that _that's _been settled," my father said, coming into the center of the room with the rest of us. He looked back at me. "Katya told me you were here because you wanted to cooperate."

"Not cooperate," I snapped. "I want to make a deal."

"Of course," my father replied with a nod, still as stoic as ever. "You want me to call off the NSC." I just nodded. "You understand, the only reason I told them what you were up to was because it jeopardized our operations, and because I wanted to keep you from any further trouble with your sister."

"Right," I shot back sarcastically. "And arresting Vaughn was just some bonus or personal vendetta?" He narrowed his eyes.

"For this deal to work, you will need to give me something I need. A six-digit code hidden inside the Rambaldi cube that was destroyed in Patagonia, a code that only you know," my father continued, not commenting on my anger. I kept my eyes locked on him, even though I could feel Sloane staring at me. Will inched himself even further back into the corner of the room, his gun still in his hand in case anyone came at him. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, for my sake as well as his.

"I have your word that when I give you that code, you'll call off the NSC?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yes," he stated without hesitation. "The _real_ code." I smirked a little. Despite all the years he spent not even bothering to speak with me, he still knew me well enough to anticipate my tricks.

"Fine," I replied. I glanced around the room for a moment, and then looked seriously at my father. "124703." He looked over at Sloane, who nodded a little.

"Perfect," he stated. He smiled at me from his position seated in that chair, hands folded over his chest. It occurred to me how he looked like a predator, even in this simple pose, ready to strike at any second, and without warning. "Thank you."

"Make the call," I said to my father. He nodded, going to the telephone. I heard him speaking rapidly to someone on the other end, stating how someone faked the tip about Vaughn and I to the NSC because he would never do something so stupid as calling us in as terrorists. He claimed to know all about our failed 'recon' mission to Russia, and that he sanctioned it because running it through DOJ took too long to approve it. Finally, he hung up and returned to the center of the large room.

"You know only Nadia or I can open the Sphere of Life," I stated matter-of-factly. He nodded a little.

"Yes, and analysis on the code will take several days. We won't take action, with either of you, until everything settles down for sure," he replied. I sighed, nodding. I was glad that he was willing to allow me at least a little time to think, to sort out the mess at the Rotunda that the NSC had most likely caused. "I'll have someone escort you out."

"I prefer to go on my own, thanks," I snapped. My father just tilted his head a little in concession.

"Very well. I should be back in Los Angeles in a few days," he stated. I just rolled my eyes – as if I should care when he came back to LA. Without saying anything more to him, I led the way out of the room, Will right on my heels.

Katya waited outside, and had a car ready for the two of us to take to the airport. I refused to tell Will anything until we got into the middle of the city and left the car behind. I didn't know if Katya bugged the vehicle, and didn't want my father and his organization hearing anything I had to say.

"What happened back there? You just gave them the code?" Will questioned. I left the car on the side of one of the main roads, figuring that, if I was lucky, someone would tow it. Will and I went to a busy café, where I used one of my many bug-killers to make sure no one was listening in. My first thought was to use the device – cleverly disguised as a ball-point pen, thanks to Marshall – in the car. But, it didn't provide enough protection for that. Anything in a public place would be rather generic hardware, and anything in the car would be custom-made. I refused to take chances.

"I gave them _a _code," I replied. "Not _the _code."

"But, your dad said-" I interrupted.

"I know," I stated with a sigh. "But, I can't trust giving him the real code. Not until I know why he works with Sloane and my mother." Will nodded a little, still not fully understanding what happened in the time he was away. "I needed a way to get the NSC to back off. Something that would give us a little time to think. He said that analysis could take several days. I just bought time."

"Right," Will stated. "And once they find out the code's fake?" I shrugged.

"I have no idea. Hopefully, we'll have some answers before that happens," I replied. I was silent for a moment. "They're all working together, but I don't know if they're all on the same side."

"How do you mean?"

"Well… When I saw my mother the last time, right before I disappeared, before everything with Allison, she told me that I was the one in the Rambaldi prophecy. She told me that I had the power to stop Sloane, to stop what he was doing."

"But now they're working together."

"Right. So, does she still want me to stop him? That must be it. She had the Covenant take me into custody, try to brainwash me, to keep Sloane from killing me."

"Yeah, if she told you the truth about all that," Will replied, reminding me once again that trusting my mother was never the best idea. I nodded a little, trying to think back on our meeting in Zurich. I hadn't even seen her at the facility. What Sloane said angered me to the point of ignoring everything else that was happening – a move that could cause a lot of damage. "If they are on different sides, why are they all working together? They're obviously up to something."

"I don't know. Probably because Sloane had the Sphere of Life, and my father had access to me. He knew how to make me give him the code," I stated.

"Call the NSC on you." I shook my head a little.

"No. He called the NSC on Vaughn." I looked away, chewing on the inside of my cheek in thought. Will nodded a little, but didn't say anything. "He used Vaughn against me and I let him get away with it."

"Well, almost." I looked over at him in question. "You did give him the wrong code." I smiled a little. "So, what do we do next?"

"We've got to contact Dixon. Maybe if we can all get back to the Rotunda, we can plan our next move. I can't do anything without the support of the agency – my father made that one pretty clear in Russia." Will nodded in agreement.

"So we call Dixon?"

"Yeah."

We left the café and caught a cab to the airport. Katya, of course, called ahead to schedule a flight for Will and I back to Los Angeles, and I wasn't about to trust her contacts. However, I didn't have any of my own to get in contact with to set up another flight, which left us stuck in the middle of the airport.

I was hesitant to call Dixon now. I wanted to wait until we were in a jet, headed back to Los Angeles before I even tried calling him. But, between the risk of calling him here and that of getting on a plane that Katya Derevko – a woman who recently tried to kill me – set up through her contacts, I had to opt for the 'lesser of two evils' situation.

Will stayed in the terminal of the airport, trying to pick up on any conversation he could despite the fact that he didn't speak Italian, while I stepped into one of the lounges and called Dixon on my cell phone, once again depending on my bug killer to keep the call secure.

"This is Director Dixon," he answered on the second ring.

"It's me," I replied.

"Sydney. It's good to hear from you. I just got off the phone with Bryant – he expressed his sincere apologies over the confusion in Russia. Apparently, your father called and said he had no idea who gave them the tip, even though the NSC insists it came from him," Dixon explained.

"So that removes all suspicion?" I questioned.

"Yes. Weiss was just released from questioning a few hours ago. Of course, you and Will are going to have to go through debrief when you get back," Dixon continued. I nodded a little, almost forgetting that he couldn't see me.

"I know," I replied. I paused for a moment. I spent the entire flight here, the whole time we met with my father and Sloane and the others trying not to think about those images on the television. I knew Vaughn was still alive – Weiss said there was no one inside the house when it burned. But, where _was _he? Why hadn't I heard from him? I tried to force my concern into the back of my mind, but now that the NSC was out of the way and my father was pacified – for the moment at least – I couldn't do it anymore.

The last time I saw him, he seemed so… I told him it was like he was two different people. There was the Vaughn I remembered, the one I met when I first started work with the CIA, the one I fell in love with. The one I spent the last year agonizing over, even though I was reluctant to admit that to myself. But there was a colder side to him now. Something harder. The one that wanted to kill Lauren, that tortured Sark to get him to talk. The one that shot Olivia Reed in cold blood.

The one that might have set his own house on fire.

So, I asked Dixon.

"Have you heard from Vaughn?" I questioned. He sighed.

"I was hoping to spare you all of this until you and Will were back in Los Angeles," he stated. I swallowed thickly, wanting to ask what it was, why his voice took on that worried and hopeless tone suddenly. But, I remained silent. "He came in of his own free will this morning." I sighed in relief.

"So he's okay," I stated, tears burning my eyes. I wiped at them with the back of one hand.

"I don't know," Dixon replied.

"What do you mean? If he came in, didn't the NSC want him in custody?" I questioned, immediately confused. _How could Dixon not know? What's going on? Did something else happen?_

"He came in under the condition that he see Medical Services. He suspected that Lauren subjected him to psychological conditioning when she and Sark implemented the Inferno Protocol," Dixon explained.

My heart fell. So _that's _what all of this was about. Dixon mentioned that to me, just before I saw Vaughn in the hospital after Weiss and the CIA team found him at that warehouse. The Covenant abducted him, tortured him for information. Sark used the Inferno Protocol to try and get Vaughn to tell him where the Passenger, my sister, was. Dixon told me that they found evidence of psychological conditioning. I never said anything to Vaughn, unsure of how he would take it. Then, in the complete and utter chaos of the last several days, I pushed it to the back of my mind.

_Funny how things always jump out at me when I least expect it_, I thought ruefully.

"So he's with MS?" I asked.

"When the call came in to the NSC that you were no longer suspected of terrorism, he went to meet with Doctor Barnett at the naval hospital for some tests. He never made it there," Dixon continued.

"So where is he?" I questioned, my heart thudding in my chest. I could barely hear Dixon's reply over the thudding of my own pulse in my ears, but nevertheless, his next statement made my blood run cold.

"He's missing."


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Natalie, i love vaughn n syd, tine, Gils, Total Vaughn Lover, **and **Eyghon** for the reviews! Just as a side note because I forgot to mention this before, I know that Sydney tells Kendall in "Full Disclosure" that the Covenant took her to a facility in St. Petersburg, and then she meets Simon later in Algeria, before going to Rome where she calls Kendall. I got all that confused while writing this and couldn't go back and correct it without re-writing several aspects of the story. So, I've got it where the facility in Algeria was the first stop, where Sydney was 'brainwashed' and then she just met Simon there as another test. Hope that's not too confusing for anyone!! :-)

**Into That Dark Night **  
EPISODE 4.08

Something was burning. My eyes stayed close as I awoke, shut tight against a light shining down on my face, and I could smell that something was either burning or already burnt. My first inclination was to tell Weiss to get the popcorn out of the microwave, that he shouldn't be cooking so early in the morning anyway. I wanted to tell him I was trying to sleep, even though his couch felt rock hard, and was ice cold.

I rolled over, trying to sit up and yell something at him, maybe grab something off the coffee table and throw it in the general direction of his kitchen in hopes he'd get the point. But, as I moved, something was wrong. The surface I was on was too flat – too uniform to be the lumpy sofa I'd spent the last few nights on. And it was freezing cold.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. A single light bulb hung above my head, accounting for the bright light I saw through my eyelids, even with my eyes closed, when I lay on my back. I was in an empty room, about six by six feet. The floor was concrete, the walls solid brick, moisture dripping off them.

I sat up, looking around for a moment. There was a door, made of solid steel, with what looked like a small hatch near the center. Probably used for passing things from one side to the other. Still trying to shake off the drugged haze in my head, I thought this was a truly bizarre room to be in someone's apartment complex, and why didn't Weiss put a heater in here or something?

After a moment, things started coming back to me. I hadn't been at Weiss's. I was at the Rotunda. I talked to Dixon… He told me to go to the naval hospital, that I could meet with Doctor Barnett. He said something about wanting to run some tests.

He showed me that folder.

The folder from Medical Services – the basic tests they ran after I was rescued from that warehouse. It said something about psychological conditioning. I set the house on fire… Brill rescued me before I died there, but…

I had to try very hard to get my mind to focus on a solid thread of memory. I felt like I slept for days, like someone knocked me unconscious and kept me that way for quite some time. Waking up felt like trying to crawl my way out of a pit in the mud; a very slow and difficult process.

Dixon and I were in his office. He showed me the folder from MS, the one that said someone subjected me to conditioning, probably Lauren. He told me to go see Doctor Barnett, that more tests needed to be run before we could determine how to reverse the conditioning.

Bryant called. He said Jack Bristow made contact, that he wasn't the one that tipped off the NSC. He confirmed that Sydney and I weren't involved in some kind of terrorist action, removing the suspicion. Cleared our names. I remembered wondering what Sydney did to make him take all of that back, and then deciding I didn't want to know.

I left his office. I went down to the parking garage. One of the NSC guards I saw on the way shot me a nasty look, but didn't move to stop me. I went to my car. I thought about seeing Marshall while I was at the hospital, that I should bring him something. Wondering how long it would be before they released him.

I didn't remember anything after that.

I fought against the panic that thought stirred in me. Why didn't I remember what happened? Where I was, or how I got here? How long was I unconscious? Any number of things could have happened, and I didn't have a clue.

_So_, I thought suddenly, _this is what it was like for Sydney to wake up in that alley._

I smelled the burning smell again, wondering what it was. It seemed to be coming from the doorway. I felt too weak still to get to my feet, but leaned towards the door and tried to figure out what was causing that smell.

Suddenly, a bright light blinded me, causing me to shrink back into the far corner of the room and put up one arm to shield my eyes. I heard the door opening, and someone stepped into the room. The door closed again, bringing the relief of darkness with it.

"You're awake," a male voice said. "Finally. That took _forever_." It took me a moment, in my extremely disoriented state, to recognize the voice, but I finally realized who spoke. McKennas Cole. "You know, I heard something about not letting a guy with a concussion fall asleep – or drugging them in this case – because they might slip into a coma. They way you were just lying there, I thought maybe they were right."

I lowered my arm after a moment, looking up at him. He looked the same as he did the last time I saw him, several years ago when the CIA took him into custody as he tried to escape SD-6 with a Rambaldi artifact. Same brown hair, same cocky smile, same tailored suit jacket without a tie. It took me a moment to realize he said something about a concussion. I put a hand to the side of my head on instinct, feeling a large lump just over my right ear, dried blood in my hair. I winced. Cole snickered.

"Well, bonus for me – you're not in a coma," he continued. He stayed near the door, but squatted down so he was at my eye level. I could see a gun tucked into his pants, and knew better than to try anything, especially since I still didn't know what the hell was going on. "As for where you are, you're in a Covenant holding facility. I'm running things here, thanks to the boss man's unexplained 'absence'. Don't know what's up with that, but since I'm in charge… Not really complaining."

I didn't say anything. Honestly, I didn't know _what _to say. The Covenant must have stationed someone near the Rotunda, someone that gained access to the parking garage. I didn't know how, or why they took me into custody. I didn't even know how long ago all of this happened. All I knew was that my head ached.

"I gotta say I underestimated you. Shooting Agent Reed, sure. But killing her mother? That was a good move. I wouldn't have thought of that one. I'm curious, was that because you didn't want an information leak, or was it revenge against her daughter? Like killing Lauren wasn't enough, you had to take Olivia too?" he asked. I clenched my jaw and kept silent, trying not to give him any kind of emotion to play off. He smiled. "I didn't expect an answer, but you gotta give me credit for trying."

He stood, looking around the small room. I kept my eyes locked on him, not wanting to give him the chance to do anything to me. I didn't know what he planned. Was I here because of what Lauren did to me? Or did he just want to gloat and shoot me in the head?

"When the boss man told me we needed an asset in the CIA, that I needed to assign Agent Reed a mark, I got a list of names," Cole continued. "Seven or eight agents in the CIA that could be used to get the Intel we needed. Used to keep us ahead of the game. Of course, when they pitched the idea to me, I only had one name in mind. Wasn't on the list, but the boss didn't seem to mind." He grinned at me. "I gotta say, that was a gratifying brief. One, because I did something truly _evil_, and I always love that. And, two… I've always had this thing for Pigtails."

Despite myself, I flinched a little as he explained. 'Pigtails' was his nickname for Sydney, from when the two of them worked at SD-6 together. She explained that he claimed a crush on her, that he didn't know her name when she first started so he just called her Pigtails.

"At first, I thought I could ruin _her _life by ruining _your _life," he stated, pacing the short distance of the room as he spoke, smiling to himself. "But, then it just became about ruining your life, which, I gotta say… _That _was a lot of fun." He looked directly at me as he delivered this line. I didn't say anything. He grinned.

"I can see why she had a thing for you," he continued. "Agent Reed. You've got that whole 'good guy trapped in a big, bad world' thing goin for ya. Or… You _did_." He leaned down again, looking me directly in the eye.

There was a long pause.

"Come on! You've gotta have _something_ to say," he said, obviously a little annoyed with my silence. He nodded a little. "Oh, I get it. This is the whole 'silent treatment' thing." He made air quotes with his fingers, shaking his head a little. "You'd think you'd have more to say. I mean, you are the man that stopped me from getting outta SD-6."

"No, I'm the guy that kept you from leveling the entire city grid to get a vial of five hundred year-old liquid," I snapped. Cole grinned.

"Ooh, he speaks!" he stated, almost theatrical in the way he spoke. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"Are you planning to tell me why I'm here, or just bore me to death?" I questioned, cutting Cole off before he could keep talking and generally goading me about Lauren and how the whole thing was his idea in the first place.

"Wow. See, I wouldn't have gone for the whole 'smart ass' feature, if I were her," Cole snapped, the cocky grin now falling off his face when he realized I was just as good at his game as he was. "But, that's all right – I'm sure we can work that kink out of the system." He stood, looking down at me. He looked bored. "You're here because I need your help with something."

"What makes you think I'd ever help you?" I questioned angrily. "You said it yourself – your job was to ruin my life."

"I'm not exactly giving you the choice in this one, just so we're clear on that," Cole hissed. "One way or another, you're going to cooperate. Either you do so of your own free will, or I get the doc to convince you otherwise."

"Cooperate and do what?" I questioned. Cole smiled.

"Does that mean yes?" he asked, leaning in a little. I just shot him a glare. He nodded a little, pulling back and leaning against the wall. "All right. I figured it might go that way. That's all right. Thanks to one lovely woman named Katya Derevko, I've got all the information about the protocol Agent Reed used on you. Won't take long to get you completely into this."

I clenched my jaw. Cole smiled again, waving as he exited the room. He locked the door behind him, walking off down the hallway.

The second he was gone, I shot to my feet, wanting to check out the entire room. I needed to find a way out of here, before Cole came back. He mentioned something about a protocol – I imagined he meant the conditioning Lauren used on me. I couldn't let him find some way to fully activate it. I already did things… Things I never would have done if I was still myself.

Which, obviously, I wasn't anymore.

The room was completely secure. There wasn't any kind of a security system or anything of the sort, but the room was obviously in the basement of a facility. The room was simple brick, no way through any of the walls, the floor made of simple concrete. My only chance was the door.

I got as close as I dared to the door, not wanting to make any noise or attract attention. If Cole was around, I knew there had to be guards crawling all over the facility. The last thing I needed was to attract some kind of attention. I knew Cole wouldn't hesitate to torture me, and after what I endured at Sark's hand and then got stabbed in the back by Katya Derevko, I didn't know how much more physical torture I could go through.

The door was made of solid steel, and the only break in the metal was the small slot used for passing meals or papers from one side to the other. Chances were, even sticking my arm through that slot – if that was even possible from this side – wouldn't allow me to reach the handle on the door and open it. I might even need the keys to get the door open…

Already, I started forming a plan. Cole would have to come back at some point to either let this 'doctor' into the room, or let me out. When he did, that would be my chance to get out of the room. Maybe once I did that, I could find out where I was, some way to contact Dixon and let the CIA know where I was. What happened.

That I didn't just _disappear_.

OOOOO

_I come to in a dark room. My entire body aches, sending shocks of pain through my chest every time I draw a breath. I can barely move – I feel like I've been under heavy sedation for days. Maybe even longer than that, but there's no way to tell._

_The last thing I remember is the back of that van. Being trapped there, tied to a gurney. That man speaking to me. Giving me some kind of a neurotoxin, forcing me to watch my own funeral as the only people I had left in the world mourned my death, just inches away._

_The last thing I saw was that look on Vaughn's face._

_I push myself into a sitting position. I taste blood in my mouth, wondering where it came from, but in the same breath, I don't care. The floor is ice cold concrete, the walls made of bricks. I don't know where I am, how I got here._

_I haven't controlled my own life for quite some time. I remember the last several days in bits and pieces. My apartment, the fight with Allison, seeing Will in the bathtub… I remember being in the back of a van, feeling the sting of a needle in my neck. Hearing voices speaking over me, talking about something I can't understand. I remember the van on the beach, the doctor telling me we'll work together._

_And here I am._

_My entire body throbs with pain, my mouth hanging open in a cry that goes, for the most part, unrealized. It suddenly occurs to me that I have several broken bones; ribs, a couple of fingers, something in one leg, toes, maybe an ankle… I haven't felt the pain because I've been sedated, drugged, brought to all kinds of different places I don't remember._

_"You are in a secure facility in Algeria." I jerk away in surprise at the sound of that voice, crying out in pain. Yes, I realize. My left wrist is aches, and is probably broken. I look up, seeing those eyes through the hatch in the door. He's smiling. "I only tell you this because I know you will never escape this room. No one will come to help you, so it doesn't matter whether you know where you are or not."_

_I hear a loud clank and the door slides open. He steps inside the room, looking down at me. I realize most of these wounds are not from my fight with Allison Doren. The doctor has a black eye, a split lip, and one arm is in a sling. We fought._

_Obviously he won._

_"You will learn not to fight," he says, the smile gone. I realize I am shaking. "Either that, or these wounds will multiply. The choice is yours."_

_"Who are you?" I snap._

_"I am the one that will restore you. Not as you were, of course, but I have been asked to re-create you. Sydney Bristow is no more. Over the next months, you will become someone else."_

_"Bite me." He grins._

_"As you wish." He turns away, walking out of the room. The door closes and locks. I sigh, leaning back against the wall._

_I am trapped, and I am going to die._

OOOOO

I awoke on the plane back to Los Angeles. When I called Dixon, he set up a flight for Will and I through one of his contacts so that we could avoid Katya and her guards. I didn't want her knowing that we left the country, especially since I gave my father the wrong code for the Sphere of Life.

Once we got back to the Rotunda and I told Dixon everything, I would get any leads he had on Vaughn. And then disappear.

I knew it was a risky thing to do. I hadn't even told Will my plan. But, with my father and other Followers of Rambaldi placed so highly in the CIA, I couldn't risk staying there. I could only imagine what he might do to me once he realized he had the wrong code, and I couldn't risk that.

I glanced around the plane and made sure Will and I were safe, and then I focused on my flashback.

Oleg Matrijik, the doctor that tried to brainwash and program me to be another woman fought with me. And, from the pain I still felt of several broken bones, cuts and bruises, I knew he did more damage to me than I did to him.

Will slept on next to me, completely unaware that anything happened.

When we landed in Los Angeles and met with a couple of CIA contacts that would escort us back to the Rotunda, something about my flashback struck me. The facility where the Covenant held me captive, where they tried to brainwash me and program me to believe I was Julia Thorne, was located in Algeria.

If Lauren subjected Vaughn to some kind of psychological conditioning, and the CIA found out about it, the Covenant would want to minimize their losses. They wouldn't want to take the chance that Lauren's work went unused. Maybe the Covenant abducted Vaughn.

Maybe they took him to that same facility.

I didn't say any of this to Will, and didn't plan to say anything to Dixon either. If I did, I would never be allowed to go off on my own. I knew that I faced a good chance that the CIA would either put me on suspension, or worse, if everything ever settled down enough to examine everything. But, I had a chance to locate Vaughn, and I didn't plan on wasting that while DOJ thought over all the possible consequences of a mission into the middle of enemy territory to rescue one rogue agent.

Especially if another rogue agent demanded to lead the team.

Finally, reached the Rotunda. Dixon immediately pulled Will and I into his office, before Director Newman and Agent Bryant could drag the two of us off into a debrief. I could tell that he knew something by the way he glanced around out the door, making sure no one listened in to our conversation.

"What's going on?" Will asked before I could question the same thing. Instead, I just looked over at Dixon in question. He looked like he hadn't slept since I spoke with him the night before, on the way back from Italy. I knew something went wrong.

"The Covenant contacted us three hours ago," he stated. "They've given us a list of demands for the safe return of Agent Vaughn."

"So they _do _have him," I stated before I could stop myself. Dixon looked at me in question.

"You knew that?" Dixon asked in surprise.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out," I shot back, trying to cover myself as quickly as I could. "Lauren subjected him to some kind of conditioning. If he came to you, that means he found out about it – the Covenant would want to take him into custody as quickly as possible before we found some way to disable or reverse it."

"Of course," Dixon said with a nod. "Newman's not doing anything – he says the loss of a rogue agent is something this agency cannot concern itself with right now. He refuses to make any attempt to contact the Covenant and strike a bargain, or send out a search for Agent Vaughn."

I didn't reply. I couldn't argue with Dixon, and I couldn't let him know that I knew the location of at least one Covenant cell that they might have taken Vaughn to. I needed to go on my own – I wasn't letting Will, or anyone else, for that matter, get into trouble for my actions again.

"You're gonna do something," Will said, immediately recognizing the quiet, determined look on my face. I glanced over at him, and he nodded. "Let me help."

"No, I can't let you do that," I replied. I looked over at Dixon, who had the same 'I'm-going-to-help-you-whether-you-like-it-or-not' look on his face. "Newman probably already wants me on suspension for the incident in Russia, there's no way I'm dragging you guys into this again."

"Do you know where the Covenant might be holding Agent Vaughn?" Dixon asked. I nodded a little. "Where?"

"No," I replied. "I'm not getting you caught up in this."

"Then I'll get myself caught up in it, Sydney. This has nothing to do with you putting me in any kind of danger. If there's something I can do to be helpful, I will do it. No matter what," Dixon replied. I sighed, accepting his position.

"I told you I love this stuff," Will said with a grin. I smiled back at him.

"Okay," I finally conceded. "On the plane back from Italy, I remembered something. There's a Covenant facility in Algeria – that's where they took me once they thought they programmed me. Once I convinced them that I really believed I was Julia Thorne."

"You think that's where they took Vaughn?" Dixon asked.

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "But, I figure we have to start somewhere. If nothing else, we might be able to find someone there that knows something – someone that can lead us in the right direction."

"All right. I'll get Marshall in on this. Today is his first day back, I'm sure he won't mind having something to do," Dixon stated, going past Will and I and exiting the room. "Wait here – don't let Newman see you."


	30. Chapter Thirty

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Tine **and **Gils **for reviewing chapter 29! And, as a side note, I promise that everything I'm doing facilitates something else, eventually. So, if I seem redundant or something makes no sense, bear with me, because everything changes in this story. :-) Thanks for your continued support, and I hope everyone enjoys this update!

OOOOO

Barely three hours later, Dixon, Will and I were all on the CIA charter jet headed for Algeria. I felt a little sorry for the pilots of the jet – they constantly got ordered around to strange places with no idea why they went there, or what might happen to the agents they transported. A little of my concern also stemmed from the fact that they would get back to Los Angeles and probably get re-assigned for participation in a rogue mission they knew nothing about.

Sometimes, I wondered if it really _was _better to be on the outside of things.

None of us said much on the flight. I could tell Dixon worried about what would happen to his job and his standing within the agency when – and if – we returned from this mission. We skipped out on the debrief entirely, and the fact that Dixon was with us would raise a lot of suspicion. I was already worried at what kind of internal investigation they called to find out what happened and who was in on our recent string of completely rogue behavior.

And, in a way, that just made me think of the Project Prodigy mess that I still needed to sort through. Obviously it dealt with Rambaldi, and there were major players all through the CIA. I had to find some way to bring them down. Maybe that would exonerate all of us, as I had a feeling that, since Newman led this inquiry, walking away from this one wouldn't be so easy.

We landed in Algeria. I found an old contact of mine that set us up with a place to stay and basic gear, but didn't have any information on the Covenant or where we might find their facility. Dixon said he would try and get in contact with some of the people he knew in the area, either loyal to the agency or freelance, and find out if anyone could give us somewhere to start looking.

"What's gonna happen if we find this place?" Will asked. The two of us sat in the living room of the safe house my contact provided for us, me on the couch and him across from me on the coffee table. I shrugged a little, shaking my head to say that I didn't know. "I mean, can we take on however many guards or personnel they have there? Just the three of us?"

"I don't know," I answered. "I have to try." Will nodded.

"I get that," he said. "Still, we've got to have some kind of a plan. There's gotta be some way to get into this place other than just busting down the front door. That never really ends well." I nodded in agreement with his reference to the failed mission in Russia just days ago. "Some secret way in."

I sank back into my thoughts. Was there some way in or out of the facility – some way that the Covenant might not monitor so closely? I felt like I should remember something like that. Then again, if a way existed, I would have used it and escaped before convincing them I believed I was Julia Thorne.

The way I remembered pieces of those two years was maddening. I found some essential pieces of the puzzle, but so many remained missing. I couldn't control what I did or didn't remember, no matter how hard I wanted to forget things or remember them.

Or, was that assessment entirely true? Maybe there _was _some way for me to control what I remembered. If I focused enough on something, maybe I could get that piece of my memory back. Maybe I could find something that would help us locate Vaughn.

"If the Covenant did bring him here, there's a good chance I might remember something about that facility," I finally said, leaning forward a little as I explained this to Will. "There must be some way, thanks to the Rambaldi compound, for me to reach those memories."

"Yeah, but you said you only remembered things in dreams," Will replied.

"I know. But, before my mother re-activated those memory cells, I met with a man, Doctor Brazzel. I told you about him – he's the one that brought back the first pieces of what happened to me. The one that led me to you, to Lazarey, to the Rambaldi cube."

"Okay, but didn't you say someone killed him?"

"Sark did. But, if there was a way for him to access those memories, to get me to think of them again, _before_ what my mother did to me, there must be some way for me to access them now."

"Right." Will nodded, pausing for a moment. "Okay, once again risking being the one to put the downside on a good idea. What happens if you _do _find a way to get to those memories? Say you meditate or put yourself in that dream state or whatever? What happens if you can't get back?"

I didn't reply. Will's words struck fear into my heart. The first time I went into my memories with Doctor Brazzel, Vaughn told me I went into cardiac arrest and nearly died. They gave me epinephrine and shocked my heart to keep me from dying, because the trauma of those memories – in that case, Lauren trying to suffocate me – was too much for me to psychologically handle.

"You mean, what if I can't access them for a reason?" I asked. Will nodded.

"Yeah, if you repressed it or something. Some stuff is leaking through, sure, but there's got to be something in there that's dangerous. Right? Something that might affect you in some way."

"I've got nothing," Dixon interrupted suddenly, coming into the room and sitting down in an old, ratty chair beside the coffee table. "No one has ever seen or heard of a Covenant facility anywhere in this region."

"I was here, Dixon," I stated, looking at him seriously. "There's something here, I _know_ it. I told Kendall I met Simon Walker here; I know there's more to this. There has to be something, something I remember from that time that might lead us to their facility."

"But you don't have any control over what you remember. You said yourself that it's come back to you in bits and pieces, after what your mother did to you," Dixon replied.

"It has. I know," I agreed. "But, there must be something I can do. Something way for me to access those memories."

"I already warned her that there might be some kind of unpredicted effect," Will stated, looking over at Dixon. He nodded thoughtfully.

"We've got nothing, and the Covenant isn't going to wait forever for Newman to take action," I stated. "They obviously think that they can persuade us by using Vaughn, but if Newman doesn't budge…" I couldn't finish my sentence.

"I understand," Dixon said. "And, you know that it's a risk. Ultimately, if you think you can access something, you'll try sooner or later. It's probably better to do so now, while we still have the chance to help Vaughn." I nodded in agreement.

"And if something _does _go wrong?" Will asked. Both Dixon and I looked over at him seriously. "Sorry, being the voice of dissent comes naturally to me. Comes from the job." He paused. "Reporter, not construction."

"It's a risk, but I have to try something," I replied. Will sighed, and then gave in.

"All right. I give up," he stated, leaning back in submission. "I guess we'll try it."

OOOOO

I had no idea how much time passed as I paced back and forth in the cell Cole left me in. It didn't take me long to realize that all the clothes I took from Brill's safe house in Virginia disappeared long ago, along with my watch, my shoes, my car keys, and any other cash or anything that happened to be in the pockets. I was left in a loose pair of black slacks made of some kind of cotton material, and a black t-shirt.

Despite the fear that threatened to rise up in me and distract me from logical thought, I tried to focus on one thing at a time. The most prominent thing had to be getting out of this room. At this point, I didn't even care if I couldn't escape custody – just being led around to different rooms or different parts of the facility would give me more information. I needed something to go on.

My head throbbed with pain, and I tried to remember who hit me, or when it happened. Did the agents that abducted me drug me and take me somewhere, and Cole attacked me? Or did they knock me unconscious by hitting me in the head, keeping me drugged after that? I had no memory of any of that time. I didn't even know how much time passed between the parking garage and waking up in this room. Days? Weeks?

Longer than that?

After spending what seemed like hours trying to remember anything in that block of time, I turned my attention back to the other problem I faced – why did Cole bring me here? He made allusions to the conditioning that Lauren subjected me to during the Inferno Protocol. I imagined that he planned to activate or use that programming to do something to me.

But, _what_? Convince me to work for them? To give them information? I didn't know what the Covenant wanted, and there was no way for me to make sense of any of that if they planned to leave me locked in this room.

Since I didn't know how to get out of the room, or how to find out where I was or what Cole wanted with me, I needed something that I might be able to solve to focus on. Since I still didn't know where Sydney or the others might be, or what they planned to do, I only had one other thing to figure out.

How to stop Cole from activating the conditioning.

Even though thinking about it gave me a headache, I figured it couldn't be much worse than the pain in the side of my head from the concussion. So, I went back to what I knew – I needed to remember the time that I spent in the custody of Lauren and Sark, and try to figure out what happened to me during the Inferno Protocol.

Sark tried to trick me. He gave me something that knocked me unconscious, and then Lauren appeared. She told me that she felt sorry for what I went through at the hands of the Covenant, and that she wanted to help me escape before Sark came back and killed me. She said I told him everything.

I ran outside. There was a truck. The man inside had a cell phone, which he gave to me. I tried to call the agency, to reach Dixon. The man obviously worked for the Covenant, and the call was routed somewhere. Lauren and Sark had a way to imitate Dixon's voice, to make me think I spoke to him.

I caught on.

I hit the driver of the truck, trying to get control of the vehicle. It crashed into something. I stumbled out, too sore to try and run. Before I got away, Sark and Lauren appeared. They threw me into a car, going back to the warehouse where they left all the equipment.

I realized Lauren lied when she told me she felt for me. I remembered thinking I would never allow myself to believe those lies again – I wouldn't listen to her. She and Sark used the Inferno Protocol – slowly overheating my memory cells to force me to admit Nadia's location.

I felt a needle in the back of my neck, delivering the toxins directly into my spinal cord and to my brain. I could hear Sark's voice. I tried to force my eyes to focus on something, anything, but only the most basic functions remained under my control.

Sark reminded me of where I was; an old building. I was in a freight elevator. I met with a man. He asked me who that man was – I told him it was Brill. He asked why we met, and I explained.

But, when he asked for the location of the Passenger, I told him 'no'. I wouldn't say anything. I didn't know what they would do to me, but I refused to give them what they wanted.

Sark got a phone call. I heard him ask the person on the other end something, and then he hung up. He told Lauren they had what they needed, and instructed her to kill me. I felt some kind of a burning sensation in the back of my neck. She turned up the IV, walking out of the room.

"I told you, stop doing this to yourself." I jumped, startled at the sound of that clipped, British voice. I stumbled, nearly falling over in my rush to get away from the figure standing near the door of the cell I occupied. "You're only making this worse."

"You did this to me," I stated, glaring at her. She wore solid, head-to-toe black, blonde hair hanging down over her shoulders. She smiled.

"See? Doesn't that help?" she asked.

"Help _what_?" I questioned, though as I asked, I realized what she meant. The pain in my head lessened as I focused on Lauren, knowing she was dead and wasn't really standing beside me, but still holding a conversation with her. "What did you do to me?"

"Michael, you've _got_ to stop trying so hard to figure this out," she replied, shaking her head. "It just makes this worse. If you just cooperate, I promise you this will stop."

"I'm not letting this happen," I snapped, shaking my head. She sighed.

"You don't have to. It won't take them long to do what I didn't have the chance to finish," Lauren said, shaking her head again.

"What the _hell_ did you do to me?" I shouted, advancing on her. She vanished, and I felt that strange 'just-waking-up-from-a-nightmare' feeling again. The small hatch in the center of the door slid open.

"Are you talking to yourself in there?" Cole asked. I didn't reply, leaning back against the wall on the other side of the room. I saw his smiling brown eyes on the other side of the door. "Huh. Interesting feature."

The hatch slid closed.

"You can't fight me," she stated, standing right next to me. She reached a hand up and I could literally _feel_ her cold fingers on my cheek. I jerked away, whirling on her again.

"Stay away from me," I hissed.

"I'm not doing this," she said. "_You're_ doing this." She smiled. "I didn't think you had such resolve. Fighting this… That's a brave thing for you to do."

"Why?" I asked, forcing myself to calm down and focus. Ignore what happened in this cell, and face my memory. I was in the warehouse, Lauren left the room after Sark. I heard the door open, and the IV was turned down. I heard her voice.

"You will listen to what I say or I will leave you here to die," Lauren said to me. She didn't just leave – she came back once Sark left. "You've been weakened. Tortured. In pain. This experience will haunt you, it's going to be with you forever. You can either let that happen, or you can take control."

"Stop doing this!" I looked up, seeing Lauren staring at me. I was starting to remember, I was getting closer to something… Some way to either deactivate or lessen the hold of the programming.

"I want you to listen," the voice in my memory continued. "You don't want to be weak, do you? You want to be strong. You want to protect yourself, protect Sydney. Don't you?"

I nodded.

"Good. When someone tries to weaken you, to hurt either of you, you know what to do. Stop them. Don't even think – just stop it from happening." She turned to go, but then stopped and turned back. Her hand was on the IV. "One more thing. If you try to remember any of this, or fight against me, it will only get worse."

She was gone.

I shook my head, glancing around the cell. I didn't know what happened, but the apparition of Lauren disappeared. The entire room was silent, and my headache dulled again.

_The trigger._

She taught me to react like I did – to become emotionless and rationalize everything down to simple ideas when I felt that someone tried to hurt me, or to hurt Sydney. When someone brought up the pain I went through with Lauren, with Sark torturing me, with the Covenant…

If Cole tried to activate that… Put me in that state of mind… He didn't have to torture me to _make _me do something. Thanks to what Lauren did, and to the Inferno Protocol, just the torture _itself_ might set off that conditioning.

_I have to get_ out _of here._


	31. Chapter Thirty One

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N:** Thanks to **Tine, Gils, derevkobristow-spawn, Total Vaughn Lover **and **Eyghon**!! You guys never fail to make me smile with your reviews. :-) So, here's chapter 31.I hope everyone enjoys!

OOOOO

_"Syd, come on! We'll be late, and you know how that works out. Next thing you know, people will throw rocks through the windows and then everything will go up in flames."_

_I sat up. I was in my old apartment, the one that burned down over three years ago. Francie's voice spoke to me from the living room, telling me to get ready to go, or she would leave me behind._

_I looked around the room. Everything was just as I left it. Just as I remembered, before that night… I glanced up at the door, seeing Francie stick her head in. She smiled, shaking her head at me a little._

_"Francie, I just want to sleep," I replied, rolling over onto my side, wincing a little at a sharp pain in my shoulder._

Wait_, I think suddenly, trying to focus even though it seemed I just watched this memory, rather than taking some kind of an active part. _I remember this. This was the same night that we took SD-6 down. I left the CIA Rotunda and came here, and then I went for a run…

_"Please? Look, I'll buy you a drink," she suggested. I smiled, looking over at her. Her face fell. "All right. All right. I get it. I'll just go on my own. But, at least _try _and come by, okay?"_

_"I will, I promise," I answer._

No! _I screamed at myself. _Allison Doren will be there – Francie will die if I don't go with her!

_"Are you okay?" she asked. I smiled, nodding._

_"Yeah. I'm fine." She grinned, turning around and leaving the room._

_I rolled back onto my side. For a second, I didn't understand what happened. I should have seen the other side of my room, felt the pillows under me… Instead, I found myself in a different room, sleeping on some kind of a small cot with an uncomfortable pillow._

_I sat up, swinging my feet down to the floor. The room was dark, but I could still see around, just a little. It was kind of Spartan, with just the bed and a desk, a book sitting on the small table beside the bed._

_It took me a moment to realize I was in Julia Thorne's room at the Covenant facility in Algeria; where I lived before getting that apartment in Rome. I stayed there for several months before coming back here just before I had my memories erased._

I have to look around. There has to be something here somewhere – something I can use to figure out where this place is, how to get in and out…

_I glanced at the clock, seeing it was the middle of the day. I brushed my hair back out of my eyes. The place was quiet – most of the other agents in some kind of an analysis meeting. They didn't know what to do with me yet. They've already got what they wanted, now they need someone to find where to start looking for the cube._

_Suddenly, I realized that the meeting with Simon Walker was the day before. I passed the test Cole gave me – they're not watching me anymore._

It's time.

_I stood up, grabbing a coat and pulling on a pair of running shoes. It's been nine months, but I know what I have to do – I have to get out of here, contact the CIA… They have to know I'm alive._

_Without a second thought, I left the facility. I told the guard on duty that I wanted to go for a run, and that I should be back in an hour or so. He nodded, not finding it at all suspicious._

_I walked out the front door._

No_, I think. _That's not going to work. I have to try something else. Why can't I control this? There has to be some way for me to start controlling my actions, to force myself to go somewhere…

_"Well, once you're aware that you're in the dream state, your objective will be to pick up the thread of your last memory in as much detail as you can. If you can get to that point, just stay with it, because, ultimately, you will become aware of what happened next."_

_Doctor Brazzel smiled at me as he explained that, looking down at me, lying on the table in his facility before giving me his experimental drugs and putting me into the dream/memory state._

_I tried to concentrate. I didn't want to remember any of the things I went through at that facility in Algeria, but I knew that my memory might be the only thing we could use to help Vaughn, to save him before the Covenant did something to him._

_Suddenly, I found myself in that cell. I lay on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling. The room didn't have a light. Sometimes, when Oleg did this, I imagined that I was back in my old apartment. I could hear Francie talking to me, laughing about something that happened to her that day. Will was there, watching the two of us. Knowing the truth about me and still understanding why I did the things I did._

Focus!_ I commanded myself. _Stop hallucinating and find a way out of here!

_I sat up. I glanced around the room, taking it all in. The brick walls, the cold floor… I became so familiar with the place over the time I spent there. They kept me locked in that cell for almost six months. I knew the place pretty well – well enough to know there was no getting out from inside, unless someone opened the door._

_I walked to the door. It was solid steel, older but still quite strong. I knocked on it, hearing the echoing clang through the cell where I was. A small hatch in the center allowed for delivery of food, or as a way to speak without opening the door itself. I knelt down, trying to pry the hatch open from this side. Someone locked it, leaving me trapped._

_"What's going on in there?" a voice barked in sharp Russian._

_"I wish to speak with Matrijik," I replied in the same language._

_"What for?" the guard asked, opening the hatch. Thinking quickly, I shot a hand through the hatch, grabbing his jacket. He cried out in surprise as I pulled him into the door, knocking his skull against the thick steel. He fell immediately, unconscious. I pulled back, looking through the hatch. I could see the keys, attached to his belt. I reached one arm through, feeling the rusted metal cut into my flesh as I twisted, pressing up against the cold steel to reach the keys._

_After a moment of struggling to get my hands around the keys, I pulled back, feeling around the outside of the door until I found the lock. There were several keys on the ring, and it took me several minutes to get the right one, all the while becoming more and more afraid that someone else would come into the corridor and see what happened._

_Finally, I felt a key slide into the lock. I pressed on the door, and to my relief, it slid open, thudding against the body of the unconscious guard. I jumped to my feet, stepping over him and out into the corridor._

_The hallway was only a little brighter than the cell I just vacated, extending in both directions for several yards. To my left, there was a large metal gate and a stairwell behind it. To my right, I could see more rooms, just like mine._

_Thinking quickly, I turned to the left and ran._

_Two guards stepped out of the control room on my side of the metal gate, seeing me in the hallway on a security monitor. I stepped back, dropping into a fight stance despite the time I spent locked in the cell, without practice. My muscles burned already, either from exertion or from the want of a good workout._

_One of the guards came at me. I ducked easily under his arm, locking both hands around his wrist and bringing my knee into his chest. He doubled over, the wind knocked out of him, and I wrestled his club away from him. The other man came at me, just as I snapped the club up and into his nose. He cried out, his nose broken and starting to bleed, stumbling back and crashing into the metal gate._

_I punched the first man in the face, grabbing his jacket and swinging him around, letting him go just in time to send him crashing into his partner. Both of them fell to the floor, still conscious but injured. I moved right, into the security room. There were several computer monitors, keeping watch of all the cameras in the facility. I located the gate control computer, typing a command in Russian to open the gate outside. I heard the machinery clicking to life, and the gate began to move._

_As I turned to leave the room, the two guards were on their feet, attacking again. I swung the club in front of me in a large arc, making both of them back off for a second, giving me time to balance myself and send a snap kick into the first one's chest. The one with the broken nose went to his belt for a gun, which I took from him with the end of the club, sending the weapon skittering into the shadows._

_I kicked the one with the broken nose in the gut, taking his shoulders and slamming my knee into his face. He crumpled at the pain, falling to the floor. He wouldn't be getting up again, at least for a while, which left me to focus on the first one._

_He ducked under a backhand, swinging at me. I moved out of the way, and he readied his club, which he pulled off his partner's unconscious body since I had his in my hand. I blocked a blow with my own weapon, stumbling backwards into one of the desks and knocking several things over, sending things flying in all directions. The man, still pressing me back against the desk with his weight, brought a hand up and hit me. My head spun, but I didn't let it phase me. I locked my leg around his, pulling him to the floor with my weight. I drove the club into his face, knocking him unconscious._

_Taking a couple of deep breaths and feeling the adrenaline coursing through me, I took his gun and another set of keys from his belt, figuring I could always use extra keys in case I lost the first set, I took off running up the stairs._

_Up the stairs was another corridor, much like the one downstairs. I knew I was underground, but how far? I didn't allow myself much time to think about it, running to another security office and shooting both guards dead, using the computer to open the next gate to the next level, running up another set of stairs._

_Here, things looked different._

_I found myself standing in a large open room, like a gym of some sort. There was exercise equipment, a basketball hoop, a track to run… The people that ran this place didn't station any guards here, but I did see some of the other prisoners. They all looked over at me in question. I imagined the Covenant brainwashed most of them, or that they were failed cases judging by the way they stared blankly at me._

_I didn't pause to see why they stared at me like that – just ran._

_In the next hallway, I saw an air vent. I could hear alarms going off on the lower floors, and knew that someone would come after me very soon. I had a gun and a club, and my body ached for some good hand-to-hand combat, but I didn't stand a chance against the Covenant's entire security force. I jumped to the air vent, knocking the grate out of the way. I hauled myself into the shaft, hitting my head on the metal and cutting my palms open on the sharp edges. I felt the pain, but barely noticed. I couldn't slow down – not now. I was almost out._

_My heart pounded in my chest. I crawled through the vent as fast as I could, trying to be quiet but more concerned with escape than with stealth. I moved through the vents, trying to find my way through the maze, but it was nearly impossible. I didn't even know where I was trying to go, just that I needed to get out of this place as fast as possible._

_I heard yelling in Russian right below me, and gunfire erupted. Small holes were shot through the metal of the air vent, just behind me. I knew no matter what I did, I was likely to get shot._

_"Wait! Wait, I'm right here, don't shoot!" I yelled in Russian, holding my hands up. Someone pulled the grate in front of me away, and rough hands reached through, hauling me out of the shaft and throwing me to the floor. Pain exploded through my body, but I tried to mask it, jaw clenched. I hid the gun in the back of my pants, and I just had to pray that they didn't see it before I could reach for it._

_"On your feet! Now!" one of them yelled. I did as he asked, hands in the air to give the illusion of complacency. The one threatening me was the only one with his gun trained on me – someone ordered these men not to kill me._

_He barked orders at me, telling me to turn around and start walking back towards the stairs to the lower levels. I started to turn, acting on the spur of the moment and reaching for my gun. I had it out before he knew what I was doing, shooting off a round into his chest. He fell, and the others started for their guns._

_The next moments were a blur of limbs and weapons and gunshots. I managed to relieve one of them of his rifle, using it first to shoot three others and then snapping the butt into a fourth man's face. Before long, they were all dead or unconscious, and I took off running again._

_As I rounded a corner, someone brought the butt of a gun into my face. The pain blossomed in my forehead, my neck snapping back as I fought to regain my balance. I couldn't do it, though, and ended up falling backwards, crashing on to the floor and stopping my fall with my elbows._

_"That was an admirable try." I recognized the voice – Oleg. "I really do admire your spirit."_

_"I will _kill_ you," I hissed, looking up at him through the white-hot pain in my forehead. He grinned._

_"Yes," he stated. "I imagine you will."_

He hit me again, and I fell unconscious.

_A moment passed. I began to wonder – am I lost somewhere in my memory? Can I get back out again? The blackness remained. I tried to say something, to call out to Will or Dixon because I knew they stayed close by, but I couldn't. It was like my words froze on the tip of my tongue, refusing to go any further._

_Finally, my eyes opened. I returned to my rock cell, in the dark. I could hear Francie laughing, and she sounded more like Allison than Francie. That was the instant that I really realized my best friend had been murdered, and I never even knew. I didn't catch on until Will _told _me that she wasn't Francie._

_It was so obvious. The strange looks, the way she always disappeared or didn't understand something I said. They way she reacted differently. I should have known that first morning, when Vaughn was at my apartment and I told her that he was the guy I mentioned before, the one from the bank, and she looked at me like I was crazy._

_She didn't know what I was talking about!_

Concentrate, Bristow_, I told myself again. _There's time for all of this, you have to find some way to get out of this cell.

_I stood up, pain laced through my skull because of the sharp hit with the butt of the pistol Oleg had with him. I put a hand to my head, feeling a wave of nausea at the intense pain. It occurred to me that I might have a concussion, but I couldn't focus on that right now._

_I returned to the door. Someone welded the hatch closed._

_I tried to focus on why I failed. Why could I not get out of this place? I made it into the air ducts – if I knew where I was trying to go, I could have made it out that way. I could have gotten away from the guards._

We need the plans. We need some way to follow those ducts, to figure out where they go or how they're built… Some kind of information on how to use them to get out of the building.

_I opened my mouth to tell Will that we needed those plans, but I was still in the cell. I couldn't wake up._

_I was _trapped

Fighting back the panic that thought sent through me, I forced myself to concentrate. I just needed to find my way back to that room. Get back to where Will and Dixon were, to the safe house where the three of us stayed.

_But that room was unfamiliar to me. And the one I stood in haunted me, I saw it when I closed my eyes… I remembered all the things I endured there, all the pain I went through._

_Suddenly, dozens of feelings and images started to flash through my mind. I saw Oleg, telling me Sydney Bristow was dead. He had me seated in a chair, electroshock nodes hooked to my head. The pain zinging through me, fraying the ends of my nerves. I felt needles in my arms, one side of my body numbing and going to sleep while the IV on the other side made my heart race, awakening every single cell._

_The ups and the downs, the pain and the temporary repieve I found when he left me in that room. I began to love that room, to wish that he would let me go back there and lay in the darkness. Let me pretend that I was somewhere else. In my apartment, or at work with my father._

_With Vaughn._

_I forced my eyes open. I wasn't in that room anymore. I was in another area. Somewhere off to the side. There was a long table to my left, partly back in the shadows. I saw Oleg in front of me, smiling back at me as he turned to face the people at the table._

_"May I present Julia Thorne," Oleg said. He looked over at me, and I stepped into the room. Acting. Pretending that I was programmed, that I believed I was another woman._

_"Miss Thorne." I looked up, trying not to react. McKennas Cole sat in front of me, smiling as usual. He set a knife on the table, and another man wheeled someone out from the side of the room. He was tied to a chair, gagged._

_Cole told me that the knife was important. The man didn't matter, but I should kill him because the knife was important. So, I did as he asked._

_I killed someone in cold blood, because McKennas Cole _told_ me to._

_I shook my head, trying to get away from these memories. I told myself that remembering all of this wasn't helping me. I knew everything I needed, now I just needed to get away from my memory. I needed to escape, to find my way back to the real world._

_I stood in that apartment in Rome. The real estate agent led me around, pointing out the nicer features of the place. It was part of a job – I bought this place as Julia Thorne so that I had a base of operations away from Algeria. The Covenant didn't want to risk my being there all the time, so they asked me to find somewhere to live when I wasn't doing anything at that facility. They gave me all the money I needed to do so, telling me to find somewhere nice – somewhere I was comfortable._

_"She loves it." I looked back over my shoulder, seeing Simon there. I smiled at him, staying perfectly in character. I shoved the part of me that felt repulsed, that wanted nothing to do with him, into the back of my mind. I wasn't _pretending _to be Julia Thorne. I _was _Julia Thorne now. Sydney Bristow was gone in this moment. I was just Julia, shopping for an apartment with Simon Walker, as absurd as that thought was._

Get me out of here!

_Nothing happened._

_I skipped through time. Back before the apartment burned down, pretending to be Julia Thorne, meeting Lauren for the first time, seeing my mother there, meeting Simon, going to Lazarey and telling him that I wouldn't kill him if he promised to help the CIA, Oleg torturing me, the back of that van…_

My eyes slid open.

I pushed myself into a sitting position. It took a moment, I was sore and tired. Sleep seemed to blanket me, though I still felt lethargic. I looked around. Red light flashed over me somewhere. I heard yelling, not in English but some other language… It was Chinese.

_I'm in Hong Kong!_

"_Sydney_!"

I jerked myself awake. I looked over, seeing Will next to me. I glanced the other direction – I saw Dixon. I sat up, looking around the room. The three of us were in Algeria, at the safe house. I sighed, dropping my head into my hands.

"Are you okay?" Will asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nodded a little.

"How long was I out?" I questioned, looking up at Dixon.

"A little over three hours," he answered, sounding relieved. "We didn't think you would wake up."

"I _told _you that was a bad idea," Will stated. I looked over at him, trying to smile a little. "Are you all right?"

"I think so," I replied with a nod. I looked back at Dixon. "I tried to escape. When the Covenant had me in custody, there was one time… I almost got away. I attacked one of the guards and got out of the room they held me in. I made it to the main level of the facility before Oleg caught me."

"Did you find anything? Anything we might be able to use?" Dixon questioned.

"Maybe. There's an air vent system in that facility. That might be something, right? I mean, if we can figure out where we need to go," I stated.

"Do you know the exact location of that facility?" Dixon asked. I thought back on the time I left the place, telling the guard I wanted to go for a run. I called Kendall…

_No, wait_, I said to myself. _Kendall said I called him from Rome. That happened later, so…_

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "No, I don't. It's in the mountains. Most of it is underground, though." I stared straight ahead, sinking back into memory once more. "There are so many cells, how are we ever going to find him?"

"I don't know," Dixon answered. He stood. "But, I might know of a contact. He lives in the mountain range just north of here. He might know something."

"All right. If he knows anything, ask him about the access to the air vents. If we can find that, we might make it into the facility without them noticing. Getting out might be hard, but…" I trailed off, shaking my head a little.

"We've got weapons," Will stated. "I mean, we should have enough for a fight, if that's what they want."

"Good," I replied. "Let's get to work."


	32. Chapter Thirty Two

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Gils, Tine, Eyghon, **and **ilovevaughnnsyd** for your reviews of chapter 31! Here's the next update for everyone!! :-)

OOOOO

Less than an hour later, the three of us left the safe house. Will was right – he and Dixon managed to accumulate a rather impressive collection of weapons. The three of us dressed in black tactical vests, clipping guns and flashlights to them. I felt a little nervous about how this might work, but knew that I wouldn't back off. The three of us were the only chance Vaughn had to get away from the Covenant, and I would _not _let it end with Newman refusing to negotiate with terrorists.

It surprised Dixon to find that the facility was right where his contact told him to look, slightly hidden in the space between two mountains. There was only one level above ground, comprised of a couple of large rooms and the chain link enclosure that housed the access to the heating system and the air ducts.

"That's where we need to be," Dixon said, voicing the same thought going through my mind. I couldn't help but notice the small smile on the corner of his lips. I could tell he enjoyed being out in the field again, like old times, rather than stuck behind a desk at the Rotunda. While I knew he was more comfortable there in some aspects, and it was easier on his children, I knew he missed being in the field.

It was almost nightfall, so the three of us had to move very carefully so no one saw us. As we drew closer to the facility, I saw that someone stationed several Covenant guards all over the building, on the roof or the ground. A couple hung by the service entry we planned to use to infiltrate the building, so we had to take them out or convince them that we belonged there. Neither option would be easy, especially without alerting the rest of the guards stationed all over.

"You think we can convince them to let us in?" Dixon asked me, smiling a little. I smiled back, the familiarity of these gestures lost on Will. After all, Dixon and I were partners back at SD-6 before I even knew they were a part of the Alliance.

"I don't know – you think we look like maintenance workers?" I asked.

"Depends on which company they called to fix their air conditioning," he said with a laugh. Despite myself, I chuckled as well. One thing I always liked about working with Dixon – he knew how to lighten the mood before a mission, to give us both a moment to think about something other than our impending danger and possible death.

Will looked over at me, smiling a little but apparently still not understanding why Dixon and I joked around in this very serious situation. I would explain to him how it was easier for us to go on dangerous missions if we tried to keep the mood light, even though he probably wouldn't understand because he wasn't an agent.

"There," I said suddenly. I saw a red light on the back of the building that turned off. When it did, obviously signaling something, the three guards watching the back entrance of the building all moved to the side, trying to stay warm by a fire they lit in a large oil drum. "That must mean something."

"We don't know how long that light might stay off," Dixon stated.

"Yeah, and if we wait here it could come back on and stay that way for three hours," I protested. "I'm going over there." I started towards the chain link fence, hearing Will behind me. Dixon followed reluctantly.

I could hear the guards speaking in Russian, laughing about something. One of them checked back around the corner every couple of minutes, making sure that the red light was still off. I had a feeling that the light came on when the access to the tunnels was unlocked – probably when they drew fresh air from the surface level. When the light turned off, the tunnel was locked, so the guards could take a break.

I ducked behind some of the large machinery attached to the access tunnel, noting that several heating units that probably piped heat into the facility rested in the back yard. Will followed me, Dixon cutting his own path through the area. I stopped at the gate that led into the back enclousre, noting that someone fastened a padlock over it. I glanced over at Dixon, who handed me a pair of bolt cutters.

Quietly, I snapped the lock off, setting it down on the ground. I slid the gate open, nodding to Dixon to go first. Will followed him, trying to stay between the two of us at all times. I closed the gate, wanting to leave the impression of everything being normal.

Dixon led the way over to the access door, hopping effortlessly over several pipes and hoses left spread out over the ground. The access door was locked, but there was a large vent beside it that seemed to connect to the light. Just as I thought, when the light was off, the vent remained closed. We would have to wait for it to come on before we could get into the vent system, and then probably wait until it closed again so the guards wouldn't hear us moving through the tunnels.

Dixon signaled for Will and me to wait. I nodded, acknowledging his command without saying a word. I could hear the guards, just around the corner, still speaking and laughing. Suddenly, the red light on the wall emitted a loud buzzing noise, and the three of them immediately came back around the corner.

"Guys-" I cut Will off, silencing him by raising a hand into the air. The guards hadn't seen the three of us yet, and I hoped they wouldn't. Stealth would definitely help us getting into the facility. Sneaking in would be easier if the guards inside didn't expect us already.

After buzzing several times, the light turned on and the grate slid open. Dixon ducked in first, motioning for Will to follow him. He did so. I shot a glance back at the guards, and then followed them inside.

The three of us waited just inside for a moment. I heard one of the men asking the others if they saw something. He sounded curious, and a little on the alert. I heard footsteps coming closer, holding my breath and forcing myself not to move an inch. Will was glancing around, paranoid, but Dixon put a hand out across his chest to keep him from moving. The guard stopped at the grate, looking around for a moment.

"Must be those things you always smoke – you're starting to hear things!" one of the guards called to him in Russian, laughing. The guard near us smiled, shooting a reply as he turned to go.

The three of us waited until all three of them were wandering around the far side of the enclosure, ducking further into the access tunnel. I heard the gate snap closed a few moments later.

"Okay," Dixon said, finally breaking the silence. "We need to get into the main ventilation system."

"This way," I said, leading the two of them towards a grate that resembled the one from my memories. "This should lead us into the ducts. If we crawl through towards the front of the facility, we should be able to find the room where I got into this system when I tried to escape."

Dixon pried the grate off, allowing me to crawl up into the vent first. Will followed me now, and Dixon pulled the grate back into place after the three of us. The space was small, and I could tell that the two of them, having broad shoulders and being generally larger than me, had some difficulty moving through the vents.

After several minutes of pained crawling, trying to navigate in the darkness, I saw light coming from one of the other grates. I crawled to it, passing over the grate and moving it out of the way. Will dropped down first, followed by Dixon, who extended a hand to help me. I glanced back over my shoulder for a moment, frozen in place at what I saw.

Two panels behind me I saw a damaged panel. Several bullet holes tore through the metal, letting small streams of light into the vent. This was where I was… When I tried to escape, I was _right _here.

I shook myself out of it, taking Dixon's hand and allowing him to help me down. When I set foot on the floor, I looked around. It was the same corridor. I could see the corner where Oleg waited for me to run at him, where he knocked me out…

"I know where we are," I stated. "This is where I was, when I got into the air vents." I pointed at the damaged panel. "See?"

"You remember this place?" Will asked, sounding a little surprised. I nodded, looking back the other direction.

"I got into the vents not far from here. I think we should go this way."

Trying to remain as quiet as possible, the three of us moved through the corridors, ducking into the shadows or around corners when we heard voices. I realized that everyone here spoke Russian, probably because most of the Covenant operatives were either SVR or ex-KGB.

Like my mother.

_I'll worry about her later_, I told myself, leading Will and Dixon through the corridors. Finally, we came to another location I recognized – the gym room I came into from the sub-level. I took a breath, my heart rate increasing as we stepped into another room I knew from before.

"There," I said to Dixon, pointing to the large gate that would lead us down to the first sub-level. "That's the way in." He nodded a little.

"What do you want me to do?" Will asked. "I don't speak Russian." Dixon looked over at me, the expression on his face clear. We hadn't accounted for that flaw in our plans.

"I'll do it," I stated. Dixon put out a hand to stop me, but I was already moving towards the large gate. I didn't know if the operatives in the security level below could see me. I knew there were cameras in the lower halls, but not in the upper level of the facility. I cleared my throat, hearing a reply from below, asking what I wanted.

"Lower the gate," I stated in Russian.

"What's the pass phrase?" one of the guards below, a woman this time, called back to me. I paused for a moment.

"Truth takes time," I replied in Russian. The machinery came to life, and the gate began to lower. I looked back at Dixon, who nodded a little in understanding. 'Truth takes time' was one of my mother's favorite phrases. She created this facility, she ran the Covenant, so it made sense that she would use that phrase as a password. I had a feeling she told me this before, and I remembered it and that was why I said it suddenly, but couldn't be sure.

The gate lowered, and Dixon and I rushed down the stairs, Will trailing a little behind. I turned into the security office, catching both guards by surprise. I leveled my gun at the woman, telling both of them to put their hands in the air and stand against the back wall. Dixon followed me in.

"I'll take it from here," he stated. I nodded, spinning on my heel and going back to Will, still standing in the hallway.

"This is station base calling for your com check." I spun around, hearing that familiar voice on the radio in the center of the desk, between two of the computer monitors. _Cole_. "Come in station one." Dixon snatched the radio, handing it to the woman.

"Answer him," he instructed.

"Go to hell," she snapped in thickly accented English. "Kill me if you like – I don't care." Dixon looked back at Will and I.

"Go. Get to the second level," he instructed. I took Will's arm, racing to the end of the corridor where the next gate was. I said the same phrase to the men in the control room below us, telling Will to have a weapon ready and take control of that room.

Will went ahead of me, gun at the ready, spinning around the corner as he saw me do upstairs and telling the guards in English not to move. Even though they might not understand his words, I knew they would get the meaning. I glanced into the office on my way past, catching a furious look from one of the guards. It took me a second to realize his nose was slightly crooked, and I realized he was the one I injured during my escape attempt.

I heard yelling in Russian, and saw three guards come out of a side corridor. Gunshots went off, and one of them fell. Instantly wondering what all the commotion was, I ran that way. The other two stopped in front of me, obviously forgetting whatever they ran from and turning their attention to stopping me.

I tucked my gun back into my belt, not wanting to kill the two of them if I could help it. One swung a fist at me, which I dodged. He grabbed his gun, shooting at me. I ducked under the weapon, using both hands to knock it away from him.

The other guard made his way behind me, locking his arms around me in a bear hug and keeping me from getting away. The first man kicked me in the stomach, hard, making stars swim before my eyes. I lashed out at him with both of my feet, missing completely because of the grip the other guard had on me.

I went limp for a moment, hoping to make them lower their guard. The first man grinned, making a snide comment in Russian. I snapped my head back with all the energy I had into the chin of the man behind me. He cried out, immediately letting go. I snatched my gun, killing the man in front of me.

I could hear the sounds of a fight in the next corridor, running in that direction. I still didn't know what caused the ruckus, but made it my objective to find out. I rounded the corner, face-to-face with another guard. He went for his gun, and I shot him before he could get to it. Another came at me, knocking me to the side. We crashed into the wall, my gun falling out of my grasp.

I drove a knee into his side, causing him to gasp in pain as he covered his injured kidney. I pushed him back, hitting him a couple of times in the face. He stumbled, and I kicked him in the chest, making him go down. Another swift kick to the head left him unconscious, and I was running for the next corner before he hit the ground.

I rounded the corner, and felt a shock of relief when the man in the next corridor wasn't a guard – it was Vaughn. He wasn't looking my direction, but when he heard someone coming from that direction, he spun around, raising a gun and pointing it right at me. Instinctively, I put my hands in the air, locking my brown eyes on his green ones. It only took a fraction of a second for him to recognize me and lower the weapon.

"Vaughn!" I said, running up to him and embracing him. He pulled me close to him, arms around me, just as relieved to see me as I was to see him. "Are you all right?"

"I'm okay," he replied, planting a gentle kiss on my lips. I pulled back a little, looking up at him. "How did you guys even _find_ me here?"

"I'll explain, let's get out of here," I replied, pulling away from him reluctantly and leading the way back through the corridors. "What happened back there?"

"The guards started to take me off somewhere, I needed to get out before that happened. The second I was out of the cell, I grabbed a gun and started shooting," he explained, shaking his head a little. "I didn't even know where to go once they were dead."

"Dixon and Will are here," I replied, glancing over my shoulder at him. I could see a large bump on the side of his head, blood dried in his hair. I stopped, looking at him. "What happened?" I reached out, gently touching the side of his head.

"I have no idea," he answered. "Last thing I remember is the parking garage at the Rotunda; I didn't even know how long I was here when I came to." I smiled softly at him, forgetting where we were for a second and just glad that we found him and that he was alive and safe, for the moment. He smiled back, apparently just as happy.

"We should go," I finally said. He nodded, and we started through the corridors again. "What about Cole, is he here?"

"Yeah," Vaughn replied. "I don't know where he is, though."

"We heard him on the radio – he called in a com check," I stated.

"I've only seen him a couple of times since I got here," he answered. "How long have I been here?"

"A couple of days. The Covenant sent us a list of demands, I don't know what they were, for your release," I replied.

"And you found out where I was?" he asked.

"Not exactly," I said with a sigh. "Newman wouldn't do anything. This was the facility where they took me, after the Covenant abducted me and set my apartment on fire. This is just the first place I thought to look."

"So it's just the three of you?" Vaughn questioned. I looked back at him, smiling and nodding a little.

"Guess that was enough."


	33. Chapter Thirty Three

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Gils, Tine, derevkobristow-spawn, **and **i love vaughn n syd **for reviewing chapter 32!! :-) Now, for the administrative stuff... I am in the process of packing up all my things and moving from Colorado to Los Angeles, so I'm not sure how often I am going to be able to update. The hotel I am staying at _claims _to have Internet access, but I am not sure if I will be able to access my documents to upload them and update. I will try and get as much done as I can and continue updating, but if I can't, I am sorry. :-( Enjoy this next chapter, sorry it is so short, and I will update as soon as I can.

OOOOO

I fell asleep on the plane on the way back to Los Angeles. Not really restful sleep or the drugged sleep I imagined I got at the hands of McKennas Cole. Just pure exhausted sleep. I felt comfortable considering that I was crammed into a seat in the economy section of an old airplane, fingers laced with Sydney's and seeking out the slightest comfort from her presence.

When we landed, predictably, an entire CIA task force waited at the airport. Without making a scene, they managed to take the four of us into custody. One of the junior agents seemed considerably frightened of Sydney and listened to her every demand when she said if they put us in different cars she would _kill_ the poor kid. Despite my concern for him, I found the whole situation rather funny.

Once we reached the Rotunda, Newman called all four of us into the conference room for a briefing. I could see that he struggled with his emotions. Of course, he was angry with Dixon for letting Sydney go off like that, and for going with her, but he seemed relieved that he didn't have to bargain with the Covenant _or _face the option of having the death of one CIA officer on his conscience.

Of course, I knew Cole didn't plan to kill me, but I didn't say anything.

"I think all of you know, perhaps with the exception of Mister Tippin, what a huge breach of protocol made in the last several days," Newman began. I sat on one side of the conference table, Sydney still right beside me as she remained since finding me in Algeria, Dixon and Will across from us. Newman stood towards the head of the table, alternately staring at each one of us. "From running off on rogue ops, being wanted by the NSC for terrorist activity, and being in contact with known terrorists without running any of the above by anyone in this office.

"However," he continued, "the agency made an extensive review of your actions recently, and found that, while you did not act in the best interests of the Central Intelligence Agency, you gained valuable Intel, and yesterday you saved Agent Vaughn's life from a Covenant facility in Algeria." He sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Which is why the agency asked me to run through standard debrief and let all of you return to business as usual." He paused. "And by that, I mean _agency sanctioned _business as usual."

"Thank you sir," Dixon said with a nod, accepting leadership of the group as the highest ranking operative.

"Now," Newman continued, taking a seat once he finished disciplining us all. "We've got a couple of things to cover. First, I've been in contact with Case Officer Everson with the Witness Protection Program." He looked at Will. "You're going to have to explain yourself to him, not me."

"Right," Will said with a small nod.

"I've also had contact with Jack Bristow, finally. I'm sure you'll all be relieved to know that he's all right. He had some trouble with a Covenant cell in Germany – they faked the call to the NSC about the terrorist activity in Russia," Newman explained. I saw Sydney glance over at Will, knowing that Newman lied. Evidently, the two of them contacted Jack at some point, probably shortly after the NSC raid in Russia. "He'll be back tomorrow morning.

"As for Irina Derevko and the Covenant, we have a couple of leads," he continued. "One of which came from Olivia Reed, given back to us through Agent Weiss." I winced a little at the mention of Olivia Reed's name, feeling Sydney put her hand comfortingly over mine. I looked up at her, and she smiled a little.

"What information do we have?" Dixon questioned, drawing Newman's attention away from Sydney and I without even realizing it.

"We know that the Covenant wants a code to access the Sphere of Life, which Mister Sark admitted is in their possession," Newman answered. "And that they believe Agent Bristow knows that code." He looked over at Sydney.

"I don't know it," she lied. "But, I know that the code is either one of or is _the _reason that I chose to remove my memories of those two years." Newman nodded a little, but I could see that he didn't believe her.

"Beyond that, we know they had a base of operations in Russia. Jack Bristow sent a recon mission there, but the facility was empty. The Covenant apprehended Jack Bristow, getting that Intel from him and calling in a tip to the NSC that you took some form of terrorist action."

"How did my father escape the Covenant?" Sydney questioned suddenly. Newman faltered for a second, and now I knew for sure that most of this was fancy dancing around what everyone in this room already knew.

"He didn't say," Newman finally answered. Sydney didn't respond. There was a pause. "Anyway, we don't know where the Covenant located its base of operations after that. We don't even know who comprises the lead group of the organization for certain."

"Irina Derevko, Arvin Sloane, and Julian Sark," Dixon replied. "Katya Derevko is involved as well." He looked over at Sydney. Obviously they both made the decision not to tell Newman what he already knew – that Jack Bristow worked with Irina and the rest of the Covenant operatives. Whether that meant he worked with the Covenant was unclear, but it seemed that all of them were in it together.

"Right," Newman stated, looking down at the notepad in front of him. "Okay. So, we'll get a couple of the other agents in here – we've got one from counter-terrorism and a couple from psych, they're gonna run you through debrief. After that, we'll keep working on this issue here and call you back in when we hear something. Be back here in fifteen."

Before anyone could reply, Newman was on his feet and headed for the door. Everyone seemed to relax once he left. I looked over at Dixon, who looked out the door after the director to make sure no one was listening.

"I didn't say anything to him about Jack," Dixon said after a moment, looking at Sydney. She nodded.

"Good. I don't want to make him suspicious, but the only way we're going to find out who is in on this is to let them know we know," she replied with a sigh. "My dad did the same thing with Sloane to flush out the members of a group they called 'The Trust'." She glanced around. "I can't help thinking there's some kind of relationship between the two of these groups."

"What is the Trust?" Dixon asked, looking over at her.

"I don't know. But, it's got something to do with Rambaldi," she answered, shaking her head.

"Senator Reed was a member of the Trust," I threw in. "His wife shot him to protect Lauren's 'interests'." Dixon just nodded a little, not saying anything.

"They tried to frame Senator Reed as the Covenant mole," he continued, shaking his head a little. "Sloane obviously knew of the Trust – why didn't he come to the CIA with that knowledge?"

"Because, the Trust is a CIA-funded black-ops project," Sydney replied. Dixon rose his eyebrows. "Before Wittenberg, when my father faked Sloane's execution, he gathered information on the Trust, also known as Project Centigrade. I never got to look at that information, but a lot of those people are highly ranked in the agency."

"Just like your father and the other Followers of Rambaldi from the contact list on Project Prodigy," I added. Sydney looked over at me, nodding gravely.

"And they're all interested in Rambaldi," she finished. "I mean, that can't be coincidence, can it?"

"It's hard to say," Dixon replied.

"What if they're rivals?" Will asked suddenly, interrupting the discussion. Everyone looked at him, silent for a long moment. "I mean… What if the Followers of Rambaldi and the Trust both grew inside the CIA, and now they've both got the same aim. To find Rambaldi's endgame, to get the sphere."

"So Sydney's father and Newman work for one side, but the Trust comprises the other side?" Dixon questioned, not following Will's logic.

"Something like that," Will replied. "I'm thinking the reason we've been going on these missions, the reason that everything seems to be swinging back and forth like this is because we're getting jerked around from one end to the other."

"Doing one thing for the Trust and another for Jack," I stated, nodding a little.

"Yeah, yeah that's what I think this is," Will agreed. "Only trying to figure out who's running what doesn't seem to lead us anywhere. We need to find someone on the outside – someone not part of either one of those groups."

"Right, but we can't do that without compromising our own safety," Dixon threw in.

"Unless there's some way to play both sides," Sydney stated suddenly.

"What do you mean?" I questioned, looking over at her curiously.

"Well… When I met with Katya at her safe house, she told me that she played both sides – us and the Covenant – to get the Sphere of Life to my father and the Followers of Rambaldi," she began. "There's got to be some way to find out about both of these groups."

"We can't do it through the CIA," Will said. Sydney nodded a little. I looked over at her, understanding where she was going with this, but waiting for her to say it before I called her insane. "What are you thinking?"

"We need resources," she replied. She looked over at me. "And, as much as I hate to say this, freelance contracts aren't gonna cut it."

"Please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking," I stated.

"What?" Will asked. I glanced over at him, seeing that he looked very concerned. "Come on, _what_?"

"We know of an organization that has… Agents, connections, funds. Everything we need to try and investigate the Trust _and _the Followers of Rambaldi," she continued. "With Newman running things here and my father controlling anything we try and do outside of his jurisdiction… We need someone _outside_ the agency." I cut in before she could finish.

"You're talking about _working _with the Covenant."


	34. Chapter Thirty Four

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Gils, tine, total vaughn lover** and **Eyghon **for your reviews. Sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter up, but I haven't had access to the Internet. Anyway, here is chapter 34 for you, since everyone has been so patient. Enjoy and please review!

**Uncommon Bonds **  
EPISODE 4.09

"Absolutely not," Dixon stated, looking across the table at me as if I went completely crazy. "There is no way anyone in this office will willingly work _alongside_ the same terrorists that nearly killed every one of us at some point."

"I know what they did, but do you have a better idea?" I questioned, looking from him to Will, and finally over at Vaughn. "We need information on these groups, and we don't have the resources to get that information."

"And the Covenant still might have Director Kendall," Will threw in, shrugging a little. "We've got to find him." I nodded in agreement, remembering that Kendall was, as far as we knew, still missing.

"We can't just hand our lives over to the Covenant!" Dixon protested. "Sydney, this group stole two years of your life. They kidnapped my children, they tortured Vaughn, they tried to murder Will. You can't _seriously_ think about trusting them."

"I'm not saying we trust them," I defended quickly. "We need to work together. They have information we need, and we have something they want."

"Information about your father and where the Sphere of Life is," Vaughn stated, understanding right where I was going with this. I nodded a little, glad that at least he understood what I meant, unlike Dixon or Will.

"As far as we know, we might have the same aims as the Covenant. Bringing down the Followers of Rambaldi," I stated. "Working with them would give us the weapons, the resources… We might stand a chance."

"And they might kill all four of us," Dixon stated.

"I'm still the only one that knows the code to get into the Sphere of Life," I stated matter-of-factly. "No one can make a move without it."

"As crazy as it is, it might be the only way for us to get a lead," Vaughn added. I looked over at him. "Not that I _like _the idea, but it makes sense."

"I know I can't convince any of you not to do this," Dixon stated, trying to get control of the discussion again. "But, I _can _express my opinion that this is _insane_! You cannot expect the Covenant to trust us, to trust our aims. There's no way."

"I have some freelance contacts," I said to Dixon. "As I'm sure everyone in this room does. However, after the op in Russia and the three of us vanishing to Algeria, around Newman's jurisdiction, we've already exhausted everything we have."

"And if that was all some part of their plan?" Dixon questioned.

"The Covenant is just starting to get back on its feet after Sark escaped custody. The North American cell doesn't even _exist _anymore, with Sark working with Sloane and my father, and Lauren dead. I doubt they've even kept track of our movements until recently," I replied.

"We still need a way in," Vaughn added, looking over at me seriously. Of all the people in the room, I would have thought he would be the _least _willing to go along with this plan. It surprised me that he agreed with me over the others' objections, trying to plan all of this out.

"I know," I replied.

"How are we going to do this? I mean, they're not going to think we want to work with them or for them or anything," Will threw in.

"Right. We have to play it as an exchange of information. Whatever they know about the Trust, about the Followers of Rambaldi, in exchange for what we know about the prophecy, and the location of the Sphere of Life," I stated simply.

"What happens if they find the sphere?" Dixon asked, continuing to be the sole voice of reason in this discussion. I shook my head a little.

"I don't know. They can't do anything without the code," I stated.

"You're sure they don't have it?" Dixon asked.

"Yes. That's the whole reason my father called the NSC, to say that we were involved in a terrorist act. He wanted to force my hand, to make me go to him with the code," I explained.

"And he's not gonna be happy when he finds out he has the wrong one," Will added. "Which, I mean… He might already know, right? If he's on the way back here from Italy?"

"He might," I allowed.

"You guys met with him to get the NSC to back off?" Vaughn questioned, seeming slightly confused. I nodded.

"Katya gave me a way to contact her. We went to Rome and met with their organization. Sloane and Sark were there. They said that my mother was there, but we never saw her," I explained briefly.

"Okay, so Jack will be back here in the morning. He probably knows that he has the wrong code for the sphere, and is going to want to do whatever he can to get the correct code," Dixon summed up. "We have to stop him from getting his hands on that code."

"That or get the sphere away from him," Will stated. "I mean, letting the Covenant get it isn't the best plan, but we can't get it away from Jack. There's no way."

"Our only option right now is to try and flush out the members of these organizations, see if we can get somewhere with that knowledge," I finally said. "Once we know what we're up against, we can go from there."

OOOOO

Director Newman kept the four of us locked in debrief for over two hours, explaining that he wanted to go over absolutely everything that happened in the last several days. When the meeting finally ended, I followed Dixon into his office, hoping to convince him that my plan – working with the Covenant to bring down the groups we battled inside the CIA – was not completely insane.

We discussed the whole mess for a while longer. I told him I knew it wasn't the best option; after all, the Covenant held responsibility for every one of us losing something. Working with people like Sark and McKennas Cole was the last thing I wanted to do. But I wasn't going to blindly hand my father what he needed to access the Sphere of Life. I had no idea what he planned to do once he had access to Rambaldi and his 'greatest power', and wasn't making a move until I knew something more. Newman could know nothing of any of this. I didn't know what side he was on, but it appeared that he worked with my father.

I didn't say anything to Dixon about how my mother might play a role in all of this. She headed up the Covenant, and now worked with my father. I didn't know if we would really be able to go beyond her influence, so I just had to pray that whatever they planned would keep her away from the Covenant for the time being. Either that, or I was looking at striking a deal with McKennas Cole to make sure she didn't catch onto our plans.

When I finally left Dixon's office and returned to the central area of the Rotunda, I noted that Vaughn already left. I looked around for a bit, but figured he left right after the debrief. I thought of going to Medical Services, but knew that he wouldn't check himself in there, even after the ordeal in Algeria.

Finally, I left the Rotunda as well. I called Weiss, letting him know that everything was back to 'business as usual'. I didn't want to worry him, so I didn't ask if he saw Vaughn. I figured if they were at his apartment, Weiss would say something. When he didn't, I had my answer.

I had to think of where Vaughn might go. Luckily, it wasn't difficult for me to come up with a place.

Shortly after I first met Vaughn, back when I still worked at SD-6 and just became a double agent, I tried to re-connect with my father. I set up a dinner for us, but he called and cancelled after leaving me sitting in the restaurant for over an hour. I called Vaughn, needing someone to talk to, telling him to meet me on one of the docks at the Santa Monica pier. I told him it was a 'good place to think'.

That was the first place I decided to check. And, happily, I found him there, seated on the edge of the dock, watching the ocean, but obviously thinking. I approached quietly, not wanting to surprise him but wanting to let him know I was there.

He glanced over at me as I sat down beside him, evidently not surprised by my presence. For a long moment, neither of us said anything, even as he reached over and gently took my hand, smiling a little and keeping his eyes locked on the ocean.

_Who said that I wasn't right?_  
_I've lived for years without a life  
__Don't have a soul on my side  
__Still ridiculed despite how hard that I have tried_

"You were right," he finally said. I looked over at him, and he smiled. "This is a good place to sit and think."

"Vaughn…" I trailed off when he shook his head a little, turning away once more. Despite my concern, I didn't press it. I figured as long as he was here and we weren't fighting, things were probably okay.

"Lauren and Sark used the Inferno Protocol. Just before leaving, she told me… She told me that if I didn't listen to what she said, she would kill me," he finally began. "Told me that, in order to… Get through what she did to me I had to react without thinking, without emotion. Any time I got too close to something that reminded me of her, of… What happened, I just… Did exactly what she told me to."

"Cole wanted to bring that out?" I asked, still a little confused as to why Lauren would do something like that.

"I guess. He said he needed my help with something, but wouldn't say what," Vaughn replied, sighing deeply and shaking his head.

_Don't take me under your wing_  
_I don't need a hand, don't need anything  
__I've got a roof over my head  
__As if I'd rather be alone with me instead_

Another long pause followed. I didn't want to say anything, not because I was afraid of hurting him or making him angry, but because I didn't honestly know what I _could _say.

"I didn't know I had that in me," Vaughn stated finally, shaking his head a little in disbelief. "Maybe I didn't – maybe it was all conditioning. I don't even know anymore."

"You know what triggered it now," I replied, trying to be comforting despite how awful the whole situation became in the last several days. "That's worth something, right?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly, looking back at me.

_Close yet far  
__Drop me a line and tell me  
__How the hell you are  
__And I'll tip my hat to those  
__Who can't believe it's me  
__Though I never, never, never ever  
__Wanted this to be_

"How did you get through it?" he asked suddenly. I looked over at him in question, not understanding what he meant. "You said the Covenant held you captive for months, they tried to… How did that fail, and Lauren did this to me in just a couple of hours?"

"Project Christmas," I replied, shaking my head a little, my anger with my father rising to the surface as I thought about the still-mysterious Project Prodigy and the mention of 'Phase Three', and what he might have planned. "According to Kendall, he hard-wired me not to be affected by torture or brainwashing. The only reason the Covenant couldn't program me was because my father did it first." I paused. "And I _still _don't know why he did it."

_I can hear the sounds of the city  
__Sunrise and set are the same to me  
__My hesitating pulse is good company  
__My reflection offers no apology_

"You think cooperating with the Covenant will help?" Vaughn questioned. For a long moment, I didn't reply. Finally I just shrugged.

"I have no idea," I said after a moment. "They'll want the Sphere of Life before giving us any information, if they know anything at all. And even then, they might just double-cross us."

"But letting the Covenant have it can't be any worse than letting your father have it, right?" Vaughn asked. I nodded a little.

"That's the other thing I'm worried about," I stated. "What about my mother? If she runs the Covenant, they might already have access to the sphere. In which case, we have nothing to offer them."

_But who said that I wasn't right?  
__I've lived for years without a life  
__And I've got a roof over my head  
__As if I'd rather be alone with me instead_

"I don't think so," Vaughn replied. "Cole mentioned that he took over operational control for whoever runs the Covenant – your mother. He said that she just vanished, I don't think anyone knows where."

"So she's working with my father," I said.

"Yeah," Vaughn agreed. "But, at least that means we can get outside their organization by going to the Covenant." I remained silent for a long moment.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" I finally asked, unsure. Vaughn sighed, looking back out at the ocean.

_Close yet far  
__Drop me a line and tell me  
__How the hell you are  
__And I'll tip my hat to those  
__Who can't believe it's me  
__Though I never, never, never ever  
__Wanted this to be_

"I figure I can either fight this from the outside – whatever happened to me. Or, I can go right for the source. I think I stand a better chance to find out what Lauren did by getting information from the Covenant." He paused, and then broke into a smile. "Plus, you know how much I like the guys at MS."

I smiled at his comment, once again reminding me why I loved his sense of humor. He looked back over at me, still smiling happily for the first time in days.

_Close yet far  
__Drop me a line and tell me  
__How the hell you are  
__And I'll think of days when  
__There was something to believe  
__Though I never, never, never ever  
Wanted this to be_

OOOOO

Vaughn and I remained at the dock for another hour, not talking but just enjoying one another's presence. Despite everything he went through with Lauren, and then realizing she subjected him to some kind of conditioning, he finally seemed to be okay. I felt relieved, but refused to let my guard down yet. After all, we were looking at associating ourselves with the very people that did this to him – I didn't know if that would set off whatever 'trigger' he mentioned.

Finally, he agreed to go back to the Rotunda and at least have someone look at the large lump on the side of his head. I managed to convince him to do so once he mentioned that Cole said he had a concussion. Once we took care of that, I went to see Will.

It was nice to have him back in Los Angeles, even if he did have to hide out at a CIA safe house so the Covenant didn't find him. I doubted he knew anything that they wanted anymore, but that wouldn't stop people like Sark from killing him on sight. The whole mess with Allison Doren and Francie created a deep-seated hatred between the two of them. And I was sure that the fact that Sark kidnapped Will once and handed him over to a man named Doctor Lee, who then tortured Will in Taipei, had something to do with those feelings.

And, honestly, I felt a little bad that I hadn't really had the chance to talk to Will. Not about what I learned about my father and my missing time, or my mother's affiliation to the Covenant. Just… _Talk_. Like we used to, about life in general. We couldn't do anything until we had a concrete plan anyway, and Dixon wanted to wait a couple of days to make sure Newman wasn't still sniffing around.

So I went to the safe house where my father let Will stay while he was in Los Angeles. There were a couple of lower-level agents stationed there as security – not that it did any good in past circumstances, at least in my experience – who let me in immediately.

"Hey," Will greeted, evidently surprised to see me there. He grinned. He sat in the living room area of the house, papers and documents spread all around him on the coffee table and the couch, some on the floor. He wore his glasses, and I saw a pen stuck behind his ear.

"This is a familiar sight," I joked, coming into the room and taking a seat across the coffee table. "What, did the inner-journalist start calling for a little mayhem?"

"Something like that, yeah," Will said with a nod. It amazed me to see how easily his old personality returned to him here. In Wisconsin, I knew he had to pretend to be a completely different person. Seeing the old Will was kind of nice. He continued speaking as he reached for a glass of flat soda on the table. "No, I uh… I needed to try and make sense of some of this stuff. Why, did something happen?"

"No, no," I assured him, shaking my head. "I just… I miss talking. I miss us, I miss normal life." I smiled a little, only half-joking when I said I missed normal life. Will smiled warmly, nodding a little. "I just thought, we have a little down time. I wanted to talk. Just… You know. Hang out."

"Yeah, great," Will replied. He pushed back from the table, taking his glasses off. "No, that's good. I need a break, this Rambaldi stuff makes my head hurt."

"Believe me, I know the feeling." He laughed a little at that, nodding in agreement with my statement.

"How's Vaughn?" he asked.

"Good," I replied. "Better." I smiled a little. "I think he's gonna be okay."

"That's good, that's really good," Will said with a nod. I stayed silent for a moment, and then grinned again. "What?"

"Did you ever ask out that painter?" I questioned. He laughed a little.

"God, I can't believe you remember that."

"Of course I do." He smiled, but didn't say anything. "So, did you?" I prodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did. I went over to her place and asked her to get lunch with me sometime," Will replied.

"And?"

"Uh… Not good. Very bad, actually. She apparently thought of me as offensive, or that I said something crude. I don't think she speaks English, which surprised me. But, uh, she slammed the door in my face. I had a bruise for, like, three weeks." He laughed.

"Well, you tried. You get points for that much, anyway," I stated. He nodded a little, but the smile began to fade as he sunk into his memories.

"I miss Fran," he finally said. I nodded in agreement, my smile disappearing as well as I thought back on Francie.  
"I do too," I replied.

"You know, I find myself missing all this stuff from before. I miss Francie, I miss this. I even miss my _sister_," he said with a chuckle. I smiled, remembering Amy and her crazy red hair, and how Will always complained about her even though I could tell the two of them were close. "I wish I could tell her I'm not dead. I didn't die in the fire or… Whatever story they came up with."

"You know I never wanted _any _of this to happen to you," I stated finally.

"Of course I know that, Syd," Will replied immediately, smiling in reassurance. "I mean, if I wasn't snooping around into SD-6, _none _of this would have happened."

"Maybe." Another moment passed.

"You gotta admit, I did pretty well considering how little I had to go on," he joked with a grin. I shook my head, smiling as well. "Either way, here we are. I mean, we're both still alive, relatively undamaged. That's gotta say something for our side."

"Yeah," I agreed with a smile. "It does."


	35. Chapter Thirty Five

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **tine **for reviewing chapter 34! By the way, the song I used in that chapter was "Close Yet Far" by CKY. Sorrythat I forgot to tell you that - I was just so happy about finally getting to update that I got a little ahead of myself! Anyway, here's the next chapter for you all - enjoy!

OOOOO

After receiving a clean bill of health from Medical Services at the Rotunda – and only after a lot of convincing and insisting that I felt fine and didn't want to go over the whole mess in my folder right now – I spent the night on Weiss's couch. I knew he must have been curious about where I disappeared to, or why I set my own house on fire, but was nice enough not to start pestering me with questions until I got some actual sleep.

Eventually, I told him our plan. I knew it was useless to try and hide it from him, as he would find some way to get in on it anyway. And, I also knew that the more people we had on our side, the better. We needed all the allies we could get, especially considering we contended with at least two different black-ops divisions of our own agency, without knowing who was involved.

The following afternoon, the two of us returned to the Rotunda for a meeting with Dixon. Will and Sydney were already there, waiting in Dixon's office to stay away from Director Newman. I didn't see Jack Bristow anywhere, but imagined he was close by. Newman did mention he would return that morning, so I knew he was there somewhere.

"I told Weiss the plan," I stated, though I figured that was perfectly obvious already. Sydney nodded a little.

"I'm in," Weiss stated. "There's no way I'm letting you guys just go off and do this without me."

"What happened to 'retiring fully vested'?" I asked, smiling a little. Weiss looked at me seriously for a moment, breaking into a grin when he realized I was just joking around.

"Very funny," he shot back. "You know, you should consider a career in comedy. You might be able to get one person to laugh before they drag you off the stage and start throwing things." I grinned, shaking my head a little.

"I'm glad you're all here," Dixon said as he stepped into the room, closing the door. "I just spoke with Director Newman. He and Jack are in debrief for a little while longer, so if we're going to get out of here before having to deal with them, we'll have to do it now."

"Do we know where we're going?" Weiss asked, looking at Dixon in question. Dixon glanced over at him, apparently surprised by his presence, but didn't make any comment.

"I think we start looking for Cole," Sydney stated matter-of-factly. "With my mother absent, he's running operations for the Covenant now. He's probably our best shot into their organization."

"What about Sark?" Will asked.

"We don't know who Sark really works for," Dixon stated. "You said he was with your father and Sloane in Italy?" he asked, looking over at Sydney in question. She nodded a little.

"Yeah, he was. But, I have no idea if he's really loyal to them or to the Covenant," Sydney replied. "It's hard to tell with Sark. Plus, I don't think we can trust him."

"And we can trust McKennas Cole?" Weiss questioned, looking a little worried.

"No," Sydney answered. "But I think we stand more of a chance with him. He hasn't been such a player in all of this. Sark's too close to my parents, to Sloane and Nadia. We need a real outside influence in this one, so Cole's a better option."

"If Sark plays loyal to the Covenant, he might double cross us and turn us in to Jack," I added. Sydney nodded in agreement.

"Exactly," she said.

"Then we'll go to Algeria," Dixon stated. "He was at that Covenant facility there."

"He could be anywhere by now though. Right?" Will asked.

"Once we start looking, I'm sure we won't have a problem tracking him down," Sydney replied. "We might not find him, but if he knows we're looking, he'll find us for sure."

"Right," Dixon agreed. "So, we'll go back to Algeria, start looking there for Cole. Hopefully, he'll have some information for us."

OOOOO

We left the Rotunda before Newman and my father got out of their 'debrief' session. I had a feeling that it was more a meeting for the two of them to discuss my knowledge of their organization, and that I gave my father the wrong code for the Sphere of Life in Rome. I imagined it wouldn't be long before he took another drastic action to stop us from getting away, trying to coerce me into giving him the right code.

The group of us split up at the airport, wanting to take several different flights so that the CIA couldn't track us. I knew we stood a good chance of getting de-commissioned over what we planned to do. Maybe even end up in prison for conspiring against the United States government.

It seemed ironic, really, the position I took suddenly. I started working with SD-6, going to the CIA when I found out the truth. I helped bring down one of the agency's biggest enemies. Now I was looking to join up with an organization that was arguably worse than the Alliance, all to bring down a couple of radical groups inside the CIA. It was like going right back to the starting gate of the whole thing, and this time playing for the other side.

Especially considering that the same people were involved.

I ended up on a flight with Dixon, Weiss insisting he could fly on his own, leaving Vaughn with Will. Dixon suggested that the two of us pose as business partners from another country, allowing us to spend the entire flight looking over documents and speaking in a different language. After some debate, I ended up selecting Russian.

"So, we have to try and find out where Cole might be," Dixon began, looking over some quick notes he scribbled in the same language we spoke. His Russian wasn't as good as mine, but I didn't have any trouble understanding him.

"He was at the facility in Algeria," I replied. "I imagine he's still there, considering that we broke in. He'd stick around to do damage control."

The conversation continued as such for a good portion of the flight. Everyone around seemed perfectly content to ignore us for the most part. I imagined that, if anyone there could speak the language and translate, they would remain confused by the actual content of our conversation and let it go after a few moments. I didn't think anyone would be trying to listen in, though I supposed it was possible.

Finally, we landed in Algeria and met up with the others. Dixon made the suggestion that we break up into two groups, one to operate out of the same safe house we stayed in before, just outside the Covenant facility. The others would infiltrate the facility itself, looking for Cole and attempting to strike some sort of a bargain.

It didn't take long to decide that Vaughn and I would infiltrate the facility. After all, both of us were held captive there, and we did make a good team. I also figured that, because of the conditioning Lauren put him through, I stood a better chance to reason with him than anyone else, should something happen. I didn't say any of this to the others, however.

"You actually think this is going to work?" Vaughn asked me, looking over at me in question from our position on the hill just above the facility. Dixon managed to get some basic computer equipment, and the gear and tech we needed in case something went wrong. I figured that going in and trying to cooperate with Cole would probably pique his interest, and we wouldn't face any immediate danger.

But one could never be too sure.

"I almost wonder if finding Cole would be easier if we just go in the front door," I said suddenly. Vaughn looked over at me, smiling a little at my statement.

"I'm sure Dixon would love that," he stated. I smiled as well. "Still, you've got a point. Going in the back way is more likely to get us shot. Walking right up might be risky, but we stand more of a chance to find Cole."

"Okay. Straight-and-direct it is," I replied with a nod. I glanced over at him again, and we started moving. I hoped that Cole didn't tell his operatives to shoot us on sight, especially since we planned to walk right up to his front door, unarmed and unassuming.

I took the lead, out of habit, Vaughn automatically falling into place behind me. I walked, rather calmly, up to the main entrance of the facility. I saw that several guards already had their assault weapons trained on us, but didn't open fire. That could only be a good sign.

"Well, well, well." I looked up at the sound of that familiar voice, seeing Cole standing at the front door of the facility, still wearing his tailored suit and grinning as always. "This is a bit of a twist. Miss Bristow, Mister Vaughn. The two of you cost me four guards and one security computer on your last visit. So, I'm wondering, why back so soon?"

"We want to make a deal," I stated simply. Cole rose his eyebrows, the smile disappearing from his face.

"_Really_?" he questioned. "Things just went from interesting to bizarre. I must really have something you want to risk something like this. 'Two CIA agents seek out impromptu leader of international terrorist faction' sound like front-page to you?"

"We need information," I replied.

"Ah, of course. The eighth deadly sin – espionage," Cole quipped jokingly, grinning once again. "What can I help you with?"

"Not here," I replied flatly.

"Of course." Cole turned, reaching back and pushing the door open. He glanced back at us, feigning a casual businessman smile. "Step into my office." He walked into the facility, leaving the door standing open for us. I glanced over at Vaughn, worried, and then we stepped inside.

OOOOO

Cole led Sydney and I into one of the back areas of the Covenant facility, past several of the guards I recognized from before. A couple of them glared at us, obviously unhappy to see us return so soon after what happened just days before, but no one said anything. I figured they all thought, as long as we were with Cole, we didn't pose a threat.

I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a very bad one.

"Now, to the business of this 'deal' here," Cole stated as he closed the door of his office, circling around the desk in the center of the room and taking a seat. I noted that the office was the only reasonably decorated room of the entire facility, with actual furniture and freshly painted walls, rather than the yellowed decay of the rest of the place.

"We're willing to share information with you, but on one condition. You have to have something we want, or you get nothing," Sydney stated, clearly outlining the protocol for this very awkward 'meeting'. I chose to remain silent, and Cole didn't seem to take much notice of this fact.

"I have a couple of things you might be interested in," Cole replied. "Among them, the Director of an NSA project facility. I believe you know him – guy named Kendall? Older, bald, not the best personality?"

"The Covenant has Kendall?" Sydney asked. Cole just grinned.

"Among other things," he shot back, remaining as vague as he could. "Of course, his release – if it comes to that – kind of depends on what information _you _have for _me_." Sydney paused for a moment.

"I know the Covenant is looking for a Rambaldi device. Something he referred to as the 'Sphere of Life'. I know that the North American cell of your organization was actively searching for that device," she explained.

"And?" Cole asked.

"I know who really found it," she replied. Cole nodded a little, wearing his 'poker face'. I could still see that he was very interested in what she said. "I don't know where, but I know that it's in the possession of another organization."

"Which?" Cole questioned.

"That depends on what you're willing to give us," she answered. He smiled a little. "I need to know if you have any information on the Followers of Rambaldi. Any possible connections they have to a CIA group called 'The Trust'."

"There are some Followers of Rambaldi that work for the Covenant now," Cole stated, leaning back a little in his chair. "Their aims are the same as ours – finding his artifacts, learning what he was working on when he died. It wouldn't surprise me that there are members of that group highly placed in the CIA as well. Though, what relevance that has is, sadly, lost on me."

"The Sphere of Life is in the possession of one of Rambaldi's followers," Sydney explained. She paused for a long moment. "My father. Who is presently working with, among others, Arvin Sloane and Julian Sark." Cole nodded a little, looking away at the mention of Sark. After all, he appointed him to his place within the Covenant, and now that Sark worked against him, I could see he felt betrayed.

"Of course. Mister Sark is quite famous for following whoever's got the treats," Cole snapped, sounding a little angry. "And you're looking to bring him down?"

"Yes," Sydney answered. Cole nodded again.

"And what happens to the sphere?"

"I guess that depends on what else you know. Give us something useful, and I'll see that it falls into your hands at the end of all this. If you've got nothing, you get nothing in return."

"Do you know the location of the sphere right now?"

"No."

"Hmm." Cole paused. "All right then. You tell me where it was last, so I can track it from there. In return, I'll let your friend Kendall go. He's already given us everything he knows."

"And information on these groups?"

"Sorry to disappoint, Miss Bristow. I haven't got anything for you." Sydney sighed, shaking her head a little. "Still, I'm sure securing the release of a fellow government officer is a victory, no matter how small."

"Last I knew, the sphere was in Rome." Cole smiled and nodded.

"All right. Thanks."

OOOOO

Cole knew nothing.

Vaughn and I stayed in his 'office' for over an hour, trying to figure out how much Intel our two 'groups' could share with one another. I eventually told him that my father's organization was in possession of Rambaldi's Sphere of Life, and that – last I knew – the artifact was located in Rome. He said, if we gave him that information, he would release Kendall.

However, for everything we gave the Covenant, Cole had no information on the Trust or my father. As we exited the building, I didn't know why I expected him to. If we didn't even know that my father was a Follower of Rambaldi until recently, why would the Covenant have access to that knowledge, or anything else we needed to know about his operations?

"Now what do we do?" Vaughn questioned. "We can't go back to the CIA – your father wants the code for the sphere."

"I know. He won't let me get away with handing him another false code," I stated, shaking my head a little. "We'll have to do something. Disappear, I don't know." I stopped once we were a good distance away from the facility, looking around and sighing deeply. "I guess I just thought Cole might know something."

"Even if he did, he might not have said anything," Vaughn stated. I nodded in agreement. I pulled out my small cell phone to call Dixon, to tell him that the meet with Cole was over so he would come pick us up from the middle of nowhere.

"We'll get back to the safe house and figure out our next move from there," I stated, dialing Dixon's number and waiting for him to answer. When he finally did, I explained our situation and that we needed a ride back to the safe house.

"Sydney, there's something you should know," he said when I finished speaking.

"What is it?" I questioned.

"Your parents are here, and so are Sloane and Nadia. I didn't see Sark, but I imagine he's with them," Dixon stated. I felt my eyes get wide, glancing over at Vaughn to display my surprise at Dixon's news. "They're in town, not far from here. And I think they have the sphere with them."

"Why did they come here?" I asked.

"I don't know. But, this could be our chance to figure out what their endgame is," Dixon replied. "Will's on his way to you. He'll drive you back into town, and I would suggest locating them as quickly as possible."

"Of course." I hung up.

"What?" Vaughn asked.

"It's my father," I stated, looking up at him again. "He's here."


	36. Chapter Thirty Six

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Total Vaughn Lover, Gils, Tine, **and **daisyduke947** for reviewing! The song in this chapter is called "30KFT" and is by Assemblage 23. I strongly recommend listening to the song while reading the part where I use the lyrics. The melody is just haunting and I think it really adds to the mood. That's all I have to say for now, hope everyone enjoys!

OOOOO

Will gave Vaughn and I a ride back into town, dropping us off near the building that Dixon saw my father and the others enter. He told us to be careful before speeding off back in the direction of the safe house, not wanting to risk anyone seeing him. I immediately sought out a spot in the shadows of the building, not going inside yet.

Vaughn followed silently as I led the way around the building and to an emergency ladder. Climbing up to the roof, I located a small, yellowed skylight. I could see down into the center of what I now knew was an old packing warehouse. I managed to pry one edge open, so that we could hear what was going on below.

"Is everything set up?" I saw my father enter the space that was visible from the skylight. There were a couple of men in white lab coats wandering around, running some kind of cables off the Sphere of Life and into different computers. I saw Sloane as well, seated at a nearby table with Nadia beside him. I couldn't see my mother or Sark, but knew they had to be close by.

"Yes, sir," one of the technicians replied. "We'll begin running the opening sequence soon."

"Opening sequence?" Vaughn asked me, his voice just barely a whisper. "I thought they needed the code for that."

"They might have already figured it out," I replied in the same tone, my eyes still locked on what was happening in the room below us. My father nodded to the man, who then went back to work. I saw another figure step out into the center of the room – my mother.

"I certainly hope you know what you plan to do," she stated, looking over at my father, her eyes narrowed. He returned her glare, not faltering. "Personally, I think it's madness."

"You would," my father replied, returning his attention to the technicians working on the sphere. "But, you haven't had access to the same information I have."

"After all those times that I withheld information from you, you still refuse to tell me anything," my mother said, walking up right beside my father. He glanced over at her, his expression softening just a little.

"I thought it only fair to pay you back in kind," he snapped.

"And if she refuses?" she questioned.

"That won't happen," he replied.

"How can you be certain?"

"Irina, it is… Advantageous to Phase Three that Agent Reed implemented a conditioning protocol with Michael Vaughn. Even if things don't go directly as planned, there is no way tonight will fail." I looked up at Vaughn, whose surprised expression probably mirrored my own.

"You can't protect Sydney from everything, Jack," my mother protested. "You said it yourself, you're not even certain what the message will _be_ once the sphere is opened."

"I am protecting our daughter from unknowingly destroying herself," my father stated, his voice rising in his anger. "Nothing good can come of her independent interests in accessing the sphere and doing what she believes she must. _Nothing_."

"What the hell are they talking about?" Vaughn asked me quietly. I just shook my head, not replying and keeping my attention focused on the argument between my parents. It seemed to me that their positions were reversed. My mother defended me while my father wanted to use me for some higher aim.

Or had it been that way all along?

"And if she comes alone? What then?" my mother continued, following my father through the room as he walked to another bank of computers, checking something and making a couple of notes. "You can't just manipulate her."

"Of course I can," my father stated, as if it was that simple. "Did you think that all of this was simple coincidence? That his father is a Follower of Rambaldi? That she is his 'chosen one'? That they happen to be each other's only weakness? She will be here, and he will be with her. Now, I have to begin the sequence."

Before my mother could say anything more, my father brushed past her and started back into another part of the warehouse. I looked up at Vaughn, about to say something, but froze immediately.

"Pardon my intrusion, but this is a private meeting." Sark smiled at me from his position standing behind Vaughn, a gun raised at the two of us. "If you wish to observe, I'm sure my hosts would be happy to accommodate you once I announce your presence."

OOOOO

Sark led Sydney and I back down the emergency access ladder on the side of the building, keeping a close eye on both of us to make sure we didn't try to escape. He kept the gun leveled at me as we moved into the main room of the warehouse.

"We have visitors," he stated. Jack and Irina looked over at the two of us. I caught the barest hint of a smile on Jack's face as he looked over at Irina – kind of an 'I told you so' grin.

"Right on time," he stated. "Sark, if you would see to it that they are both quite comfortable, we'll get started shortly." Sark nodded.

"This way, please," Sark said to Sydney and I. We went with him into a side room where all the windows were blacked out and there wasn't any furniture. There was, however, a tall, burly guard dressed in black tactical gear in the corner of the room with a tranquilizer gun in hand. "Miss Bristow, I'm afraid this is where you'll have to wait."

Sydney turned to Sark in an attempt to protest, but was abruptly cut off when the guard stepped up beside her and shot the tranquilizer into her neck, catching her unconscious form as she fell backwards. Out of instinct, I moved to help her, only to be stopped by Sark's grip on my arm.

"Mister Vaughn, I assure you that your chances of you both surviving this night are quite slim. If you please," Sark stated, gun still aimed at me. I shot one fleeting glance back at Sydney, and reluctantly went with Sark out of the room and into an identical one beside it.

Before I could ask any questions about what we were doing here or what Jack and Irina needed from Sydney and I, Sark shoved me into the room and cracked his gun across the back of my head. Pain shot through my skull as I stumbled forward and fell onto the floor of the small room. I barely heard Sark close the steel door behind me through the thick haze of pain in my skull, my vision dark for several minutes.

Finally, I pushed myself into a sitting position, slightly dizzy from the force of the blow to the back of my skull. I glanced at the wall I knew was between Sydney and I, wondering how to escape from this room and make sure she was all right. I also wanted to know why the hell Jack needed both of us. From the sound of his conversation with Irina, it sounded like he was going to try to use me to get the code from Sydney.

I just had to pray that, because I found the trigger for the conditioning Lauren used on me, it wouldn't be as effective as it once was. If Jack tried something, I hoped it wouldn't work.

Suddenly, something else occurred to me. When Sydney and I listened to Jack's argument with Irina, he mentioned something about my father. At first, I didn't think much of it. However, I suddenly realized that, speaking of my father, Jack said he _is _a Follower of Rambaldi. Not _was_. If Irina Derevko killed him some twenty years ago, why would Jack speak of him in the present tense?

For a moment, I tried to convince myself that I heard wrong. He couldn't have possibly said something that crazy – I knew what happened.

Or did I?

When I found the Project Prodigy folder in the basement of the Rotunda, I saw the contact list that Jack Bristow put there. Sydney hadn't seen that list, even though she glanced through all of the pages of the document. Was it possible that the list was _added _to the folder _after _Sydney discovered it?

Could that list be _current_?

I didn't have the chance to wonder about it more as the door opened again, both Sark and the other man from the room beside mine stepped inside. The other guard stepped over beside me, grabbing the back of my shirt and hauling me rather effortlessly to my feet. I fought back the urge to start throwing punches at both of them and take off running, knowing that I would probably be shot and drug back to this room if I did try to fight back. The guard pushed me out into the larger room, keeping me completely disoriented as he pushed me facedown onto one of the computer tables.

I started to try and get up, wanting to get another look around the room and try to plot some sort of an escape route, when I felt the cool steel of a gun at the back of my neck, effectively pinning me to the table. I could look up just enough to see Sark circle around to the other side of the table and stand beside Sydney, holding a gun on her to keep her from moving.

"Now, we can proceed with this in one of two ways." Jack's voice filled the room from somewhere behind me, and it took me a second to realize that he held the gun to the back of my neck. "One, you give us the code so we know the last part of the opening sequence. You and Nadia open the sphere together, we retrieve the message, and we go from there."

"Or else _what_?" Sydney snapped. I could see the fury burning in her brown eyes as she glared at her father, briefly glancing down at me in concern before returning her gaze to him.

"Or, I ask Mister Sark to start with the least vital areas of the body," Jack replied, hinting at something but not clearly voicing his threat. Sark smirked as he heard this, looking over at me. Jack was threatening to torture _me _unless Sydney gave them the code for the sphere.

_Hello if you're there pick up the phone_  
_I'm calling from thirty thousand feet above you  
__The captain's just informed us that our plane is going down  
__So I'm calling for one last time to say I love you_

"_What_?" Sydney asked, looking surprised.

"Obviously, you won't give us the code for the sphere unless you feel you have more to gain by doing so than by withholding that information," Jack replied. "Torturing you will not do us any good. Brainwashing you is out of the question, as your mother attempted that and it failed as well. Even your weakness for empathic suffering may not coax the information out of you, so I've come to a very simple situation. Hand us the code, and spare Vaughn."

"You won't do it," Sydney challenged, though I could hear the doubt in her voice. "You're not that kind of person."

"I think you'll find that, this close to the end of a thirty-year pursuit, _nothing _is beyond my ability," Jack snapped. "Would you like to test this? See if I'm bluffing? I'm sure Mister Sark wouldn't mind, after the beating he received in CIA custody recently."

_I'm not certain how much time I may have left so I'll be brief  
And I'm sorry if this message only amplifies your grief_  
_But I couldn't bear the burden never having said goodbye  
__And the pain you feel I promise you will go away with time_

Sydney didn't reply. Her eyes ticked from her father, to Sark, down to me and then back up at Jack. I could tell she tried to figure out whether or not this was a bluff. I tried to move my head slightly in hopes of catching her glance, and felt Jack press the barrel of the gun even harder against the back of my neck.

"We are on a time frame, Sydney. If you don't mind," Jack stated.

"If I give you the code, you let Vaughn walk out of here," Sydney tried.

"Don't do it, Syd, don't give them _anything_," I said suddenly, trying once again to get away from Jack Bristow's grip. This time, however, I was successful, but only for a moment. I managed to stand and take half a step away from him before he quickly hit me in the side of the head, pain once again shooting through my skull as he slammed me back down onto the desk and loaded a round into the chamber of the gun.

"Don't!" Sydney cried out. I heard a slight commotion, but couldn't see anything the way Jack held me against the table, and everything fell silent again a moment later.

_I'm sorry I won't be there to see our children grow_  
_Please tell them that I love them more than they will ever know  
Tell my family and friends how much I love them all as well  
I'm sure that we will meet again but only time will tell _

"I won't ask again," Jack stated. "And I'll give you thirty seconds to make up your mind. If you decide against giving us the code, we'll try again in a couple of hours."

"He's bluffing, you _know _that!" I tried again, not wanting Sydney to give him the code for the sphere. I could find a way to escape, I just needed some time. I would kill Sark with my bare hands if I had to…

I interrupted my own train of thought. This was exactly what Jack wanted – he wanted that unfeeling side of me to come out. The conditioning. He wanted that active. He needed something from that side of me, I realized. I froze, focusing on listening to the debate going on above me for the time being.

_I'm sorry most of all I won't be there when you grow old  
To be there by your side and keep you warm when you are cold  
Forgive me but I think my time is drawing to a close  
So I've one last thing to tell you now before I have to go _

"I do this and we go from there?" Sydney clarified.

"Yes," Jack answered. "Once we have the message, we will all determine the appropriate course of action." I tried to protest, but felt Jack's grip tighten once again and noted I was beginning to lose feeling in one arm from the strong hold of his fingers. "Have you made up your mind?"

"0312… 47," Sydney finally allowed. "That's the code. The _real _code." Jack immediately stepped back, letting me stand up once more. I immediately looked over at Sydney, seeing tears in her eyes, which remained locked on me.

"Thank you," Jack stated. He looked over at Sark. "We have two hours. Put them somewhere secure, for now."

"Of course, sir," Sark replied. "Would you like me to keep them separate?"

"No need. We have what we want," Jack stated. He looked over at Sydney, who just looked down at the floor, defeated, before Sark ushered both of us back into the small holding rooms.

OOOOO

**A/N: **Just as a note, I didn't leave out the rest of the lyrics. The song ends there, leaving us to assume that the plane has crashed. Thought I'd throw that in so no one was left wondering what happened to the rest of the song! Please keep reviewing and tell me what you think of this chapter!


	37. Chapter Thirty Seven

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Total Vaughn Lover, tine, Gils, Eyghon, **and **Brinley **for reviewing! Here's the next chapter. I've got another plot shift in this one, hope everyone likes the results!

**Hostage**  
EPISODE 4.10

For several minutes after being locked away in one of the side rooms of the warehouse, I didn't say anything to Vaughn. He tried to tell me not to give my father the code to open the sphere, and I did so anyway. My father did just as he said, finding my weakness and exploiting it. I scolded myself for not expecting something like this, after everything my father said about the risks Vaughn and I took for each other.

"What do you think he'll do now?" I looked over at Vaughn, who glanced over at me from his position seated near the door. I shook my head, stopping my pacing across the room for a moment.

"Depends on what happens when we open the sphere," I replied. "He might let us go, or try to strike some sort of a bargain with us."

"Or kill us both," Vaughn shot back with a sigh, returning his attention to the door. I winced a little at the tone of his voice, and didn't reply for a moment. Finally, I walked over beside him, kneeling down on the floor.

"What would _you _have done?" I questioned, lowering my voice as I spoke to try and lessen the emotion filling my words. Vaughn looked over at me. "If he threatened me?" He shook his head a little, glancing away for a moment.

"The same thing," he finally replied. I nodded a little.

"I couldn't keep it from them forever. Katya told me destroying the sphere was out of the question. Even if we got it away from them, took it to the CIA or handed it to the Covenant, it wouldn't stop. Eventually, someone would find a way to get to the code. At least my father wants me _here_ to open the device. That's something."

"But what happens once they get it open? Katya said Rambaldi had a message. What if that doesn't lead anywhere?" Vaughn questioned.

"I don't know." I sighed deeply, getting to my feet and walking back to the other side of the room. "I don't even know if we'll get access to the message. I realize that trusting Katya Derevko as a source of Intel is probably not the best idea, but she did say Rambaldi could only deliver the message to one of us. If Nadia and I try to do it together, it might not work."

"Which means they'll probably have Nadia do it," Vaughn replied.

"Maybe." Both of us fell silent for a moment. I dug a hand into my pocket again, searching for the small cell phone I already knew was missing. I knew Sark had me knocked out so his guard could go through my things – make sure I didn't have any way of contacting Dixon or Will. Still, I had to hope that – because they knew the location of this warehouse – that they would try and find us.

"Katya didn't say what the message was?" Vaughn finally asked, just trying to make conversation so neither of us had to think about what my father would do to us once we got out of this room.

"No," I answered, shaking my head. "I don't think she knew. I doubt any of them know. Something to do with the 'greatest power', but beyond that… I have no idea."

The door opened suddenly, bringing both of us out of our thoughts. I looked over, seeing Sark standing there. He smirked a little as he looked at the two of us, silent for a moment.

"It's time, if you'll please follow me," he stated. Vaughn got to his feet as well, and the two of us went after Sark into the main area of the warehouse. My father stood near the sphere with my mother and Nadia, Sloane off to the side and smiling happily at his daughter, seemingly ignoring me.

"Sydney. Nadia. It's time," my father said. He glanced over at my mother, who kept her eyes locked on the floor. For a moment, he didn't say anything. Finally, he stepped aside and nodded to the small control panel. "If you please."

I shot a glance over at Vaughn, who just looked impressively unsure about this whole situation. With a slight look in Sark's direction to see that his assault rifle remained aimed at me, I stepped up to the control panel.

"Stand back," my father directed. He and the others moved away, leaving Nadia and I alone at the keypad.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry about Russia," she whispered, barely audible. I glanced over my shoulder, seeing that the others didn't hear her. "I was asked to test the Rambaldi compound. They wanted to be sure it worked, so they could get the code."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, in the same tone. I glanced over at her, seeing pain evident in her eyes.

"I've been an agent half my life. I'm good at what I do – it wasn't hard to fool my father and Sark, make them think I'm on their side," she replied. "I know you won't trust me, but I had no choice. It was either this or hand the sphere to our enemies."

"_Our _enemies?" I shot back.

"We are on a time frame, ladies," Sark's voice cut into our conversation. Nadia nodded a little, turning back to the sphere.

"I want you to do it," she stated. "Enter the code."

"What? Why?" I questioned. She shook her head.

"Don't ask – just do it." I glanced back over my shoulder at the others. Then, I stepped forward and entered the code into the control panel. It emitted a series of beeping sounds, and a cover slid over the panel.

Before I could say anything more to Nadia, all of the small latches that surrounded the control panel began to snap open. The sound echoed through the room, assaulting my ears. I stepped back a little, out of instinct at the loud sound, and watched as the panel slid back a good three inches into the casing of the sphere. The whole thing began to slide upwards.

I stood back and watched as the entire contraption before me unfolded like a flower. A bright golden light flooded the room. I shielded my eyes until the light faded, dropping my arm, stunned at the sight in front of me.

Maybe five feet before me was the center of the sphere. There was a tall stool of some kind, pictures hanging on the pieces of the walls that hadn't folded down into the base of the sphere. Most of the text on the parchment was written in Italian, in an old dialect that I couldn't easily translate.

The front part of the sphere, where the control panel had been before it opened, was the only part not obstructed by the small panels that the pictures and diagrams hung on. I moved to this area, looking inside the sphere at the small stool in the center. A figure sat there, dressed in a long purple robe. He had a thick gray beard and hair to match, his eyes old and tired as he focused on something in front of him. It took me a moment to realize that a podium sat in front of him, and sketched something.

My breath caught in my throat as I stepped forward, as silently as I could so I didn't disturb this man. I couldn't even make sense of the thoughts running through my mind – all I knew was that he couldn't possibly be who I thought he was. Or could he?

I took another step closer to the sphere, practically at the threshold now. The man still hadn't looked up at me. I swallowed thickly, everyone else in the room completely forgotten as I glanced down at the floor, and then stepped inside the sphere.

He looked up instantly. For a second, he seemed confused or frightened, and then his features softened. He smiled at me, his eyes shining brilliantly despite his age. I glanced down at his sketchpad. On his parchment was a drawing, a sketch of a woman.

That woman was _me_.

"Sydney Bristow," he said, his voice accented and worn. I looked up at him, completely frozen to the spot. He smiled a little, nodding and looking back down at his work. "I dreamed of this day for so long. Now it is here, and I am not sure I am ready."

"You're…" I trailed off, unable to find the words in my confusion and shock. The man nodded a little, tiredly.

"Yes," he replied. It suddenly struck me that he spoke English, which seemed strange. "I am the one you've sought all this time." He looked up at me. "I am Milo Rambaldi."

I didn't reply. It seemed absurd, and yet I knew he spoke the truth. I couldn't even say how, I just _knew _that this man did not lie to me. I now stood not three feet from _Rambaldi_!

"How?" I asked, still desperately confused. "This device…" I looked around, trying to take in all of the details. The drawings on the walls, the writing, the construction of the place… None of it made any sense.

"There is no time for that," he replied. He looked back down at his drawing. "You must listen to me. Please, you are the only one that can stop this from happening."

"Wait. Stop what?" I asked, finding my voice and speaking hurriedly, still in a hushed tone so that the others might not hear a word I said. "In your prophecy, you said I would destroy something, your 'greatest power'. The source of all of this, of your predictions, this technology – how can I stop something?"

"You must keep that power away from him," Rambaldi replied, looking up at me. I was again silenced by the look of pleading and determination in his eyes. "Whatever the cost, and I assure you it will be great. There is not much time, you must do whatever you can to keep it from him. Destroy it."

"You _want _me to destroy it," I realized suddenly. Rambaldi nodded.

"Yes. You must." He shook his head. "Or else all will be lost. Forever."

"Wait. What is the power, how do I find it? How am I supposed to destroy it if I don't even know what I'm looking for?" I questioned, feeling a sudden sense of urgency as Rambaldi began to breathe harder, his eyes fluttering closed. "Wait, you have to tell me, what am I supposed to do?"

"You will know… You must trust those around you, listen to what you hear. They will lead you to what I cannot describe." He panted heavily now, and his skin was beginning to turn to ash.

"No, you can't… Please, you have to tell me. Who do I have to keep away from the power? What… What do you _mean_?" I begged. Rambaldi smiled a little.

"You… Already know… The answer to that question."

Before I could say anything more, he slumped over on his tablet. I stepped back a little, surprised to find tears in my eyes. And, as I stood there and watched, Milo Rambaldi literally decayed in front of me. His body wilted inside his flowing purple robe, decaying until he was nothing more than ash and bone, still clutching the drawing of me.

For some reason, I glanced down at my watch. Going by Greenwich Mean Time, Rambaldi had died at just past three AM.

Three AM, twelve minutes and forty-seven seconds.

OOOOO

I watched Sydney open the Sphere of Life, Nadia stepping back and allowing her to do so. I knew the two of them said something to each other, but we were all too far away to hear it.

When the sphere opened, Sydney stepped inside. I could see another figure there, but couldn't make out any kind of details. Everyone around me, with the exception of the burly guard with the gun at my back, seemed powerfully intrigued by the conversation taking place in the center of the room, between Sydney and a man that could only be Rambaldi himself.

The conversation only lasted for a couple of minutes, and then I could see that Rambaldi collapsed onto a small podium inside the sphere. Sydney stepped back a little, and I assumed that Rambaldi just died. A couple of seconds passed in which no one dared to make the first move. I glanced over at Sark, seeing his gaze locked on Sloane, who watched the entire thing with a kind of obsessive fascination. A slight movement caught my eye, and I looked over to see Jack glance at his watch.

He didn't see me watching him, entirely focused on something else as he looked over at Irina, who stepped over to one of the computer terminals. She hit a couple of keys on the keyboard, and an explosion of noise filled the entire room.

"Under authority of the Central Intelligence Agency, you are _all_ under arrest!" Dixon's voice boomed from the catwalk behind us. I spun around, seeing an entire tactical unit spilling down the stairs.

The entire room erupted into chaos, everyone yelling orders at his or her teammates and scattering in all directions. Ignoring Dixon and the rest of the agents coming down the stairs, I took advantage of Sark's distraction – since he was the one with the assault rifle – and quickly made my way to the sphere. Sydney glanced over at me, apparently realizing what was happening as she looked back at the stairway, pulling me into the sphere beside her and ducking down so as not to get caught in a weapon cross-fire.

I heard Jack yelling instructions to someone, looking up to see that Kendall accompanied Dixon and the rest of the team into the building. He handed Jack a sidearm and the two of them took off after Sloane and Sark, who were trying to avoid being shot or captured as they dodged through the computer equipment and past the several tech guys that operated it.

"Guys!" I glanced up to the entrance of the sphere, seeing Weiss there. "What the hell?" He looked around in surprise, eyes finally coming to rest on what little remained of Rambaldi's body. "Is that…?"

"Don't ask," Sydney replied, standing and following Weiss back into the central area of the warehouse. "What the hell just _happened_?"

"Kendall showed up at the safe house about two hours ago. Covenant didn't touch him; he and Dixon managed to coordinate a raid," Weiss explained, leading Sydney and I over to where Dixon now stood. The strange thing was, Irina Derevko stood right beside him, Nadia hanging back a little and keeping a wary eye on the rest of the group.

"And my father?" Sydney asked, looking around in confusion.

"Sloane got away," Jack's voice interjected, as if answering her question. He and Kendall approached the rest of us, joining the already bizarre gathering in the center of the room. "He and Sark had a car waiting outside. I hoped we could catch them first, but we didn't."

"Okay, what the _hell _is going on?" Sydney asked, looking around at her parents and then at Dixon and Kendall in total confusion.

"I knew the Covenant was close to the sphere, I had to act quickly to keep them from getting the real code and accessing Rambaldi's message," Jack explained, walking over to one of the tables and setting his gun down, looking over at Sydney seriously. "The only way I could be sure of what they knew was by infiltrating their organization – pose as one of them. By making Sloane think I was on his side, I was able to ensure that you would be the one to open the sphere. Now we have the message and they've got nothing."

"But… The black folder, the contact list… Dad, I saw that symbol tattooed on your arm," Sydney protested. Jack pulled his sleeve aside, revealing his perfectly unmarred skin beneath it.

"Black ink pen," he answered, shrugging a little as if the whole thing were that simple. Sydney just shook her head a little.

"Your father came to me after our meeting in Zurich," Irina chimed in, looking over at Sydney. "He knew Sloane and Nadia found the sphere, and that getting it back required gaining Sloane's trust."

"Wait, so the two of you played him the whole time?" I questioned, looking from Jack to Irina and then back again. "Just to keep him from using Nadia to get into the sphere?"

"My mother approached me after speaking with Jack," Nadia explained. "She said it would be difficult to convince Sloane that we were all on his side, but once we did we could get the sphere away from him, before he had the chance to open it. I shot Sydney in Russia to convince him that my loyalty was to him, but that I would settle for opening the sphere together. When he asked us to, I told her to do it."

"This was your plan, the _whole _time?" Sydney asked, looking over at her father. I could see that she was furious, but still glad that he was still on her side and not working with Sloane.

"Yes," he replied, totally deadpan. "I'm sorry I had to go to such elaborate lengths, but in the end we got what we wanted. You got to the sphere before Sloane did."

"What did Rambaldi tell you?" Irina questioned Sydney, her eyes burning in curiosity.

"Nothing," Sydney answered. I could see that her mother didn't believe her words. "He said he _wants _the greatest power destroyed, before 'he' gets his hands on it. He wouldn't tell me anything other than that."

"Before who gets his hands on it?" Jack questioned.

"I don't know," Sydney replied.

"He _wants _it destroyed?" Irina asked, looking confused. Sydney just nodded. "Are you sure that's what he said?"

"I asked him if that was what he meant and he said yes, I don't think it gets much clearer than that," Sydney snapped, glaring at her mother. Irina opened her mouth to protest, but seemed to realize that her daughter had every right to be angry and stepped back a little, withdrawing from the argument.

"He didn't say where it was, what it might look like?" Kendall asked, getting into the discussion as well.

"Like I said," Sydney stated, "he didn't tell me. He just said to trust the people around me, to listen to what they said and that I already knew who I had to keep the power away from."

"Sloane," I threw in. She glanced back at me, her eyes softening as she nodded.

"I think so," she replied.

"That's not enough to go on," Kendall added, shaking his head a little.

"Well, I would say you could go back and ask him yourself, but I really don't think there's much _left_," Sydney shot back.

"Uh, guys?" Weiss interrupted. "While I appreciate the whole enlightening discussion-slash-argument thing, we've got a plane to catch in half an hour. Can we save it for the trip?"

"Gladly," Sydney replied before anyone could say otherwise. She glanced at me briefly, telling me to follow her as she led the way out of the warehouse.

OOOOO

I didn't say a word as everyone traveled back to the airport, getting on a flight back to Los Angeles. The CIA charter jet waited there, Dixon giving the pilots instructions to return to LA. I watched as my parents sat down with a couple of disks with information about the sphere and a laptop, Kendall joining them once we were in the air. Weiss and Will sat towards the back of the plane, across from Vaughn and I. Nadia stepped in the back with Dixon, obviously discussing what her place with the agency might be, now that we knew which side she was truly on.

"I just want to storm over there and ask them what the _hell _they thought this would get them," I said quietly to Vaughn, glancing over at him before returning my furious gaze to my parents.

"They played us. We thought we avoided the whole mess and we fell right back where they wanted us the whole time," Vaughn replied. I looked over at him, and he shrugged a little. "Not that I like it, but around your parents I'm getting used to it."

"Everything I thought I knew has been a _complete _lie," I replied with a sigh. "Just when I think I might get away from it, when I might have control over what I'm doing, even for a second… I end up right in the middle. The same place I've been since all of this started."

"You gotta admire the ingenuity," Weiss stated, making Vaughn and I look over at him in question. "Come on, Jack Bristow posing as a Follower of Rambaldi to infiltrate Sloane's organization and stop him from getting the message from the sphere."

"Why not let Nadia do it? Why lie to me the whole time, why make all of us think that he really worked with Sloane?" I questioned.

"Because playing to your rational side would take too long." I looked up, seeing that my father stepped to the back of the plane where the four of us sat. "Your mother thought it best that I convince you I was your enemy. That would make you act quickly, force you into seeking out the sphere rather than giving Sloane the chance to attempt to open it on his own."

Not wanting to get into an argument with my father in front of my friends, I stood and brushed past Vaughn, leading my father back into the small conference room of the jet. Dixon nodded a hello to me and continued his conversation with Nadia in the hall, allowing my father and me to have some privacy.

"You should have _told _me the truth and you know it!" I snapped. "I would have done what you asked – I would have stopped all of this from happening!"

"Would you?" he questioned. "If I came to you after Wittenberg, if I asked you to help me with something related to Rambaldi? Could you have set your questions aside for the greater good?"

"You _played_ me!" I hissed, all my willpower forcing me to restrain myself from screaming and converting my voice into a harsh whisper. "You've been using me as a pawn in this and it stops now!"

"Sydney, there are more important things in this than free will and choice. You knew that when you forced yourself to work with the Covenant," he replied, not losing his temper or letting the slightest emotion filter into his voice. "Some sacrifices are necessary, I thought you, of all people, would understand that."

"Me of all people?" I asked. "I gave my _life _to this job! I lied to everyone I knew for years, I _let _you destroy me. You took away _everything _that meant something to me. I will _not_ stand by and let you do it again."

"Is this because of what I did to you, or what I threatened to do to Vaughn?" I clenched my jaw, locking my eyes with my father's.

"Stay the _hell _away from me." Before he could say anything more, I literally shoved him out of my way and exited the room.


	38. Chapter Thirty Eight

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **tine, Gils, Eyghon, Total Vaughn Lover, **and **derevkobristow-spawn** for reviewing chapter 37! Glad that everyone is still putting up with my sudden changes in what I am doing with the story! Anyway, the song in this one is "Broken" by Seether. Please review-)

OOOOO

The charter jet landed on an abandoned airstrip in the middle of nowhere, Utah. Jack explained that we would find a safe house not far from the air strip, and that we had to go there over returning to the Rotunda. Apparently, Director Newman really _was_ in on the whole Rambaldi thing, and now that Sloane knew Jack played him, it wouldn't be long before Newman used whatever connections he could to stop us.

"Now what do we do?" Sydney asked her father as all of us filed into the safe house. Weiss and Nadia struck up some kind of a conversation on the plane, and wandered off into the living room, Will and Dixon in tow. Kendall stayed with Jack and Irina and the two of us, watching Jack's reaction to his daughter's question.

"Now we have to decipher what it was Rambaldi said to you when you opened the sphere. We have to locate his 'greatest power' before Sloane gets to it, which means figuring out what it might be and who might know where it is," Jack replied, strictly 'business as usual'. Sydney nodded a little.

"I'm… Gonna get some rest," she replied. She kept her eyes on the floor while speaking to her father, but did look over at me before stepping inside the house and walking up the stairs.

I wanted to follow her, but I still needed to get some answers from Jack. What was it he said about my father during his 'argument' with Irina? I needed to know if it was a slip, or if he really _meant _to say _is_. If he knew something about my father.

If there was a chance that he was still alive.

So, I followed the two of them into the other room, keeping my distance but still listening to their conversation. Nadia spoke with Kendall about something on one side of the living room, and I saw Will head off to the kitchen. Weiss looked like he fell asleep sitting on the couch.

"Whatever happens, we'll have to search out other contacts," Irina started. She led the way into the room, setting a bag down on the desk by the window and taking a seat. Jack circled around her, looking over her shoulder as she set up a laptop computer on the desk.

"Sydney mentioned something about Rambaldi telling her to trust the people around her. That's got to mean something," Jack replied. He leaned in to look at the computer, resting one hand casually on Irina's shoulder. The contact didn't seem to phase her at all, as her eyes remained locked on the computer screen.

"So someone we have access to must know where the artifact is," Irina replied. "It might be someone from that contact list."

"Right, but we can't just go around asking people. Some of them might have ties to Director Newman. We have to get to that artifact before he does, or Sloane will end up with it," Jack stated. Irina nodded a little.

"Don't worry, I know where we should start looking," she said. She looked up at Jack, smiling a little. He nodded, understanding what she meant without saying anything. I watched the two of them for a couple minutes, Jack finally taking notice of my attention.

"Is there something you needed, Agent Vaughn?" he asked, what little warmth Jack ever showed disappearing from his face when he looked away from Irina and up at me.

"At that warehouse," I started. "You were arguing. Or… Pretending to argue, whatever. Right before Sark found Sydney and I on the roof."

"Yes, it was a show we put on for Sloane. What's your point?" Jack questioned, sounding annoyed.

"You said something about how you could manipulate Sydney, make her play into your hands. That it wasn't coincidence that she and I are together, because she's Rambaldi's 'chosen one'," I continued. "And that my father _is _a Follower of Rambaldi."

Jack's expression changed, and he glanced down at Irina immediately. She looked up at him. Despite how good both of them were at guarding their emotions, I could see that they were both surprised.

And I had my answer.

"I asked myself… On the way back… If that was really what you meant," I explained, looking anywhere but directly at Jack Bristow. I ran one hand back through my hair, silence filling the room for a long moment. "I heard you say 'is' and I just couldn't believe that…"

"Vaughn, there are circumstances to all of this that you don't understand," Jack stated, his voice softening when he realized the effect that all of this apparently had on me.

"You're right," I stated, looking up at him again. "I _don't_ understand. I don't understand _anything _you've done here, and you've seen to it that _no one _ever will." I shook my head in disbelief – he_ knew _my father was _alive _and didn't tell me until it was convenient for him – and walked out of the room.

OOOOO

I felt exhausted.

Between running from my father and Director Newman and finding out that my father only pretended to work with Sloane, and then seeing _Rambaldi_ inside that sphere… I couldn't get my head around it. I never really believed in the whole prophecy or any of it, but seeing that man with my own two eyes, hearing him talk to me like that… It was… _Unreal_.

I didn't say another word to my father for the rest of the trip. I asked him what the plan was, and then I went upstairs. He took us all to a safe house, insisting that it was better not to go back to the Rotunda or to see Newman until we had a plan, something to shut down his organization.

Of course, I begged out of the whole 'strategy meeting' I was sure took place downstairs by saying I needed to get some sleep. But once I was upstairs, alone with my thoughts and no interruptions for the first time in days, sleep seemed the furthest thing from my mind.

For a long time, I lay on the bed in the small upstairs bedroom on my back, staring blankly at the ceiling. I couldn't even organize my thoughts enough to start thinking about anything in any kind of constructive manner. I didn't even know what my parents planned to do. Frankly, thinking that they worked together – that everything I went through in the last three years was _their _collective doing – made me sick to my stomach. How could the two people that I should trust the most in the world _do _that to me?

_I wanted you to know  
__That I love the way you laugh  
__I want to hold you high  
__And steal your pain  
__Away_

"You up?" I sat up, looking over at the doorway and saw Vaughn. He smiled a little, a gesture I returned. "I kinda figured you weren't asleep."

"I think I'm too exhausted to sleep," I replied honestly. Vaughn nodded a little, understanding, and walked into the room. "It's just… Way too much just happened, I can't make sense of it yet."

"No kidding," he said, his face falling as he took a seat beside me on the edge of the bed.

"What happened?" I asked, sensing that something else had gone wrong in the time I was upstairs. Vaughn shook his head a little. "Was it something my father said?"

"My father's alive," he stated, looking over at me. I felt my eyes widen in shock, remaining silent for a long moment. "During that argument between your parents in that warehouse, Jack said that my father _is _a Follower of Rambaldi. I asked him about it, and… He's alive."

"But… He disappeared, they…" I trailed off.

_When Irina Derevko finished with William Vaughn, the CIA had to identify him by his dental records. Dental records that she faked in the past, by convincing the CIA that I died three years ago. Extracting pulp from the teeth of a living person, inserting it into the teeth of a dead body…_

"Oh, god…" I shook my head a little, looking down at the floor.

"Yeah, that was pretty much _my _reaction," Vaughn replied.

"But… _Why_?" I questioned, looking over at him. "Why hide something like that?"

_I keep your photograph  
__I know it serves me well  
__I wanna hold you high  
__And steal your pain_

"I don't know," Vaughn replied. He shook his head, looking down at the floor. "I'm giving up on all of this. Trying to figure out what the hell we do or who we do it for…" He looked up at me, and I could see how much pain this caused him. "Syd, I can't do it anymore. I'm sick of always having to guess where I'm gonna end up or… Trying to figure out whether or not the people around me are lying to me."

"I know," I replied, nodding a little. "I know, it's hard, but if we give up… We have to keep trying. Even if we _never _know what's going on… It's not really that different anyway." I smiled a little, trying to lighten the mood.

_Because I'm broken  
__When I'm lonesome  
__And I don't feel right  
__When you're gone away  
__You've gone away  
__You don't feel me in here anymore_

"Maybe you were right to want to quit the CIA. Back before all of this, when we brought down the Alliance," Vaughn stated, reaching over and taking my hand. I smiled sadly, running one hand over the side of his face and through his hair. "I mean, get away from this life before it just wrecks _everything_."

"In some ways… Getting away from this life would… Be wonderful," I said with a smile. "But… Could you really do that? Walk away from all of it, after everything we've seen? Everything we've been through?"

"I think I have the answers to everything that's happened, and then everything just falls apart," Vaughn replied. "Just when something starts to make just a _little _bit of sense… Something _always _goes wrong."

_The worst is over now  
__And we can breathe again  
__I wanna hold you high  
__You steal my pain  
__Away_

"Is there ever an end to this?" he asked, looking up at me again. "I mean, I thought the sphere was their endgame. And now it leads to something else, some other artifact. What proof do we have that it won't just keep going?"

"We don't have anything," I answered. "Can you walk away now? You know your father is alive somewhere, you might have the chance to contact him, to… I don't know. Answer some of these questions."

"I don't know," Vaughn replied, running one hand tiredly over his face. "I can't even believe that any of this is happening, I just…"

Before he could say anything more, I gently turned his head so he looked over at me and kissed him. He immediately wound both of his arms around my waist, everything else forgotten for the moment as I pulled him down beside me on the bed. Reluctantly, I pulled my lips away from his, smiling a little at him and trying to reassure him.

"We'll figure this out," I said quietly. Vaughn smiled a little, still unsure, but understanding. "As long as we're together in this, we have that. We can figure this out together."

_There's so much left to learn  
__And no one left to fight  
__I wanna hold you high  
__And steal your pain_

He kissed me again, pulling me closer to his chest in a rather protective gesture. I wound my arms around his neck, pressing my face into his shoulder when I broke away from the kiss again. I felt one of his hands on my lower back, the fingers of his other one stringing through my hair.

"I love you," I whispered. "Nothing will ever change that, no matter what happens."

_Because I'm broken  
__When I'm open  
__And I don't feel like  
__I am strong enough_

"We'll find my father. Maybe he's got some answer to all of this – something your parents haven't found yet. There's got to be some way to reach the end of this Rambaldi thing," Vaughn finally said. "I just… I can't believe he's _alive_."

"I said the same thing when I found out that my mother was a KGB agent, and that she faked her own death when I was six," I replied, smiling despite the complete insanity of the situation. Vaughn laughed, nodding a little in agreement.

"Crazy world we live in, isn't it?" he asked. I nodded in agreement.

"Then it's good we fit right in."

_Because I'm broken  
__When I'm lonesome  
__And I don't feel right  
__When you're gone away_

OOOOO

I woke up the next morning, still curled up next to Vaughn in the small bedroom on the second floor of the safe house. I smiled a little as I tried not to wake him, gently sliding out from under his arm and sitting up. I could still hear the others talking downstairs in the living room, figuring that my father, if no one else, kept everyone up discussing 'strategy' all night.

Despite my anger at him, for everything he put me through in the past several weeks, I understood why he did it. I knew why he lied to me about being a Follower of Rambaldi and why he didn't tell me the truth about Sloane and the sphere. I knew why he refused to explain anything until the answers were pretty damn self-evident.

Lastly, I understood why he used me. He wanted to make sure that we got to the sphere. Using me, using my anger at him and everything he did in the past to make me play right into his hands. I hated him for it, but had to admit that it was still a brilliant strategy.

"Is it morning already?" I smiled, looking back over my shoulder and seeing Vaughn awake. He smiled a little, but didn't open his eyes. I turned back to the bed and stretched out again, letting him drape his arm around my waist.

"Yep," I replied. "But it's early. I don't think anyone down there misses us yet."

"Good," he answered. After a long moment, his eyes slid open tiredly and he smiled at me. "Hi."

"Hi," I replied, my grin spreading over my face. "You okay?" The smile fell from his face for a moment as he thought. Finally, he grinned again and nodded.

"Yeah," he answered. "You're right. We just have to figure out what our next step is and then go from there. Trying to get to the end of this whole thing from here will never work anyway."

"Exactly," I said with a nod. For a moment, neither of us said anything, just comfortable as we were. Finally, I sighed, sitting up a little. "We should go downstairs, see if there's some way we can contact your father."

"Yeah," Vaughn agreed, sitting up reluctantly as well. "The way your mother talked last night, it sounds like they might already have some kind of a lead. Maybe… Maybe it's him, maybe he knows something. Something that might help us locate this power Rambaldi mentioned."

"That might be why my mother… Why she faked his death," I replied. Vaughn nodded a little. "We should go."

I got up first, stopping in the bathroom to comb my hair back into a ponytail only to find nothing to tie it back with. Eventually, I gave up searching and continued downstairs. My parents sat in the living room, my mother scanning through documents on her laptop with my father hovering over her shoulder. Weiss fell asleep on the couch, rather haphazardly at that, and I could hear Dixon and Will talking in the kitchen. Kendall sat beside Nadia on the other couch, across the room from Weiss.

"Morning, Miss Bristow," Kendall said to me with a slight – and definitely not honest – grin on his face. "Nice of you to join us." I shot him a glare but didn't give him the gratification of a response.

"Where do we stand?" I asked, looking over at my parents. Both of them looked up at me, obviously surprised that I didn't vanish sometime during the night, never to see either of them again. "I get what you did, no matter how much I may hate you for it. Where are we with finding the greatest power?"

"I think I know who can locate it for us," my mother replied, looking back down at her computer. "But I've tried to contact him all night, and so far there's been no response."

"Contact who?" I questioned, stepping closer to the computer but not attempting to see the screen. I would play their game their way, at least for now. I needed more to go on before I could even try to fight back.

"William Vaughn," my father replied. I nodded a little, not saying anything. _So they think Vaughn's father knows something._ "Your mother coordinated her efforts with him before faking his death, allowing him to pursue the greatest power without the CIA's knowledge."

"You don't need to tell _me _this," I interrupted, looking at my father seriously. He paused, and then nodded a little, understanding. He didn't owe me an explanation – he owed it to Vaughn.

"I understand," he finally said, turning his attention back to the computer screen. "Anyway, we'll have to contact him before we can make a move for certain." I nodded. "Until then, we'll have to wait."


	39. Chapter Thirty Nine

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **tine, Gils, tvchick87, Jackie, **and **Retired Boettcher Lackey **for the reviews on chapter 38. Sorry it took me so long to get this one up - I've finally run out of pre-written material (gasp!). So, while it may take me a little longer to get updates in here, I promise I am going to stick with this story and keep it going since everyone seems to be liking it so much! Feedback is appreciated, as always, and enjoy chapter 39!

OOOOO

I took a moment to review the day before in my head before following Sydney downstairs. What I really wanted to do was storm over to Jack Bristow and tell him to find someone else to participate in his little games. The only thing that stopped me was the knowledge that Jack and Irina were the only ones that knew how to contact my father. Sydney was right – if I walked away now, I would be forced to wonder if I could have found my father for the rest of my life.

And it wasn't the first time I buried someone only to find them still alive.

After taking a moment to think of what I might possibly say to Jack Bristow once I got downstairs, I left the small bedroom. Most everyone was still in the living room. Weiss was still on the couch, awake now but lying there staring at everyone for waking him up. Sydney was talking – or rather, arguing – with Kendall not far from the front door. Jack and Irina were still on Irina's laptop, Nadia seated near her mother and working on something of her own.

"I made coffee, if anyone wants some," Will stated, poking his head into the living room before disappearing back into the kitchen. I imagined that Dixon was there as well, since I didn't see him anywhere. Will's offer got Weiss off the couch, and Nadia followed him out of the room.

"We're at a standstill at the moment," Jack said, drawing everyone else's attention. "All of Irina's and my efforts to contact William Vaughn left us with nothing. She's tried all of the protocols she set up before his disappearance, and so far he hasn't responded."

"So, what? He disappeared?" I questioned. Jack glanced at me for a moment, directing his eyes back to the computer.

"So it would appear," he replied. I shook my head a little, more annoyed by his seeming guilt at what he and Irina did than the fact they couldn't get in touch with my father. "Agent Vaughn-" he started, but I cut him off, raising a hand to stop him before he said anything more.

"Don't," I stated, looking over at him in all seriousness. "Both of you owe me one _hell _of an explanation. Frankly, I'm still too pissed at you to hear it." Jack looked at me for a long moment, and then nodded.

"Fair enough," he finally allowed. For once, his expression was mildly readable. There was an air of respect in his eyes as he nodded once again and looked back down at the computer screen.

"Is there some other way to initiate contact with William Vaughn?" Kendall asked, getting into the conversation and leaving Sydney standing by the front door. I could tell that she was in the middle of a sentence, because the look she shot after him was priceless. Despite everything, I smiled a little at her, and she just shook her head and continued on into the kitchen.

"No," Irina replied. "We set up three protocols the last time we spoke, but that was over twenty years ago. I suppose we can still give it time, but it won't be long before Sloane finds our trail."

"Then we should find another way to track him down," I added. Everyone instantly looked over at me. I rolled my eyes. "Will everyone please stop looking at me like I'm crazy?"

"What are you suggesting?" Jack questioned.

"You faked his death for a reason," I started, addressing Irina directly, as I imagined she planned the whole thing.

"Yes, so that he would be free to investigate Rambaldi and his greatest power without the interference or jurisdiction of the CIA," Irina replied, nodding a little.

"Okay, so he would have contacted other people in searching for this artifact. There's gotta be someone in all of that, someone that might know where he is, where he was going," I explained, shrugging a little.

"We have no way of tracking him," Irina replied, leaning back in her chair a little. "I set up contact protocols, always initiated by me so that I could reach him when we needed access to the Rambaldi artifact. Other than that, there's no way for us to find him. It was set up that way, so that Sloane couldn't reach him."

"I suggest we give it some more time, wait for him to return contact," Kendall threw in. He shrugged a little. "Maybe he just hasn't gotten the message yet."

"All right, fine. Whatever," I said, shaking my head a little and stepping out of the room. I met Sydney in the hall, and she handed me a cup of coffee.

"No cream and one sugar," she said as she passed me the cup. I smiled at her.

"Thank you." She smiled back.

"Anything from them?" she asked, gesturing back to the living room. I just shook my head.

"No," I answered, taking a sip of the coffee. It wasn't very hot, but was better than the stuff at the Rotunda. I wondered where Will found it in that kitchen, and then decided it didn't really matter. "Kendall wants to wait and your mother says there's nothing else we can do – no one else that knows where he might be."

"Oh, well _that _figures," she shot back sarcastically, shaking her head a little.

"What were you and Kendall fighting about anyway?" I questioned, smiling a little at the expression on her face. She shook her head, sighing as she drank her own coffee.

"He's just a chauvinist pig," she stated under her breath, causing me to laugh outright. She shook her head again, smiling now. "All I wanted was for him to acknowledge that he knew my father's plan, that he might have some information from inside the Covenant. They held him for weeks and returned him to the agency without a scratch. All he does is say 'thankfully they didn't hurt me' and tell me that I'm 'overreaching'."

"You think he might know something?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Think about it. Will finds something out about the prophecy," she started. "He's working with Kendall, who suddenly gets abducted by the Covenant. They don't torture him for information? He gives them nothing and they let him rot in a cell for two weeks? It just doesn't make sense."

"He's not working with the Covenant, though, that would be insane," I continued, trying to sort out where she was going with all of this.

"I don't know _what_ he's doing," she answered. "But they kidnapped him, so they must want something. They didn't get it, and they didn't try and get it out of him. Then Cole lets him go when I tell him where the sphere was days ago. It doesn't make _any_ sense."

"Okay, okay. Look, we've got everything else going on already, do you really think there's something here or are you just… Chasing some theory?" I asked. Sydney sighed, looking out into the living room. "I'm not trying to be a jerk, but-"

"No, I know," she assured me, shaking her head and stopping me before I could even finish my sentence. "Just… It's strange, right?"

"Yeah," I agreed with a nod. "And he just gets defensive when you ask him?"

"Completely," she replied. She glanced back into the other room. "I don't know what it is. But something's wrong."

OOOOO

After a few more hours staring at the computer, my parents decided to get some rest and headed upstairs. Weiss and Will became friends through everything, which didn't really surprise me. Watching the two of them standing on the front porch outside the safe house, I realized how similar they were. Granted, Will's sense of humor was generally more dry and witty than Weiss's practical-joke style, but they got along quite well.

Vaughn suggested that he try speaking with Kendall, trying to figure out why the Covenant held him captive for weeks on end and didn't torture him for information. I supposed it was possible, but it just seemed like I missed something. Then again, maybe it was just an occupational hazard – paranoia.

Dixon decided to take a nap, claiming the couch once Weiss went outside, stretching out. I followed my sister out back, wanting to talk to her about her time with Sloane, pretending that she was on his side just as my parents did.

"Hey," I greeted her, stepping out into the yard. She glanced back over her shoulder at me, smiling a little and brushing her hair back out of her eyes. Both of us remained silent for a moment, not entirely sure of what to say to each other. "Long night, huh?"

"I wish I could sleep," she replied, returning her attention to the yard. She wasn't looking at anything in particular, I imagined, just trying to get her bearings. I felt the same way. Finally, she looked back at me. "I'm sorry that I had to hurt you."

"I've been in that position before," I replied, smiling a little. "Having to hurt someone that you're… Close to." I stepped closer to her, trying to be friendly despite my insecurities. After all, it wasn't that long ago that she tried to kill me. Elaborate ruse or not, I wouldn't trust her so easily.

"I spoke with Dixon about transferring to the CIA from Argentine Intelligence," Nadia said, looking over at me seriously. I just nodded a little. "He thinks the information I have about Sloane could be useful."

"He's probably right," I replied.

"Where are we going from here?" she questioned. I was wondering the same thing. I went on so many flights to so many different places over the last couple of weeks that I lived in a state of permanent jet lag. It was amazing I could sleep at all, but I knew that was because of all the time I normally spent on flights all over the world. After doing it for over ten years, I got used to it. I shook my head in response to her question.

"I don't know yet," I finally answered. "Right now, we're waiting on a contact. If my… _Our_ mother gets a reply, I guess we just go from there."

"Okay." She smiled at me, nodding in agreement. "I think I'm going to get some more coffee. I figure if I can't sleep, I'll settle for way too much caffeine." I smiled back at her as she stepped past me, going back into the house.

"I still can't believe you have a _sister_." I looked back over my shoulder, seeing Will smiling at me. I shook my head a little as he joined me on the porch, but smiled honestly when I saw him. "Your dad wanted to talk to you. Wouldn't say what it was, but I think it might be important."

"I thought he was asleep," I replied. Will just shrugged a little, and followed me back into the house. My father looked like he slept for all of fifteen minutes, but his appearance remained impeccable. I wondered how he did it for a moment, but gave up thinking about it when I saw the concerned look on his face.

"I just got a call from Marshall," he stated, leading me back to the computer in the living room. He took a seat, booting up the laptop and keeping his eyes locked on the screen as he spoke. "Newman initiated a lockdown of all the computer systems at the Rotunda when an attack compromised server security about twenty minutes ago."

"And what has that got to do with us?" I questioned. He shot me a look like 'let me finish and you'll understand'.

"The attack originated from the same IP address that your mother used to try to contact Vaughn's father," he continued. "It seems that someone has re-routed our IP address to make it appear that she is responsible for the security breach. I think Sloane placed a tracking signal over our wireless connection. If he did, then he might know where we are."

"How would he do something like that?" I questioned, leaning in over my father's shoulder and looking at the computer screen.

"There are a number of ways," he answered, opening several windows and starting a search for any suspect signals that weren't generated by the computer's wireless modem. "We might have to leave this location if Sloane traced our signal, or he could be here any moment."

"I'll let the others know."

OOOOO

I tried to talk to Kendall, even though I wasn't so sure that I agreed with Sydney in that his behavior seemed suspicious. It was possible that the Covenant only grabbed him as some kind of a bargaining chip, and the fact that he and Will worked together on Rambaldi's prophecy was simple coincidence that Cole knew nothing about when he had his operatives take Kendall into custody. Of course, everyone was a little inherently suspicious of Kendall because he was DSR, but other than that I didn't think there was anything to it.

After speaking with him for a little while and figuring that he was just as tired and irate as the rest of us and not necessarily up to something, I wandered into the kitchen. Weiss was there, digging through one of the cabinets in search of food. After a moment, though, he gave up.

"There's nothing to eat in here," he informed me with a sigh, shaking his head a little.

"And that surprises you?" I asked somewhat sarcastically. He looked over at me, feigning annoyance. "This isn't even an agency safe house, you don't expect Jack to just keep it stocked in case something happens, do you?"

"It would be nice," Weiss shot back. I just smiled and laughed at his frustration with the lack of supplies. "Especially since we're waiting around like something's _actually_ going to happen sometime soon."

"Yeah, I think everyone's getting a little stir-crazy," I replied with a glance back into the living room.

"Was that why Syd and Kendall were screaming at each other? That woke me up, you know," Weiss explained, as if I had something to do with the fight that morning. I just shook my head, not wanting to try and explain the whole thing to him right now. "I mean, are we just gonna sit around and see if maybe, like, _eventually_ someone just _happens _to contact us or what?"

"For now, yeah," I answered. "We don't have any leads or ideas of where to start looking for this 'greatest power', and we have to make sure to steer clear of Sloane in the process."

"Somebody should've killed him, like, _years _ago, you know that?" Weiss asked. "Arvin Sloane pardoned by the federal government so that he can piece together an elaborate network of terrorist cells, fake his own death and escape custody to become the single largest threat American Intelligence _ever _faced." He shook his head in disbelief, going back to searching through the fridge for something to eat. I glanced over at the doorway when Sydney stepped into the room.

"I just talked to my father," she started. "He said Marshall called, that he traced some kind of piggyback signal over our IP address. He thinks Sloane planted something in the laptop that's allowing him to track and manipulate our signal."

"He thinks Sloane could be on his way here?" I questioned. Weiss instantly closed the door of the fridge, looking over at the two of us with a concerned expression on his face. Sydney nodded.

"Yeah, he thinks so. Apparently the signal was re-routed to make it look like my mother orchestrated an attack on one of the servers at the Rotunda. Marshall didn't say if the attacker accessed any data there, but Sloane could be looking for something," she continued.

"And using that IP address so that Newman thinks it's us," Weiss finished.

"Or so he can convince his superiors that it was us," Sydney corrected. "Newman's already after us, if he really works for Sloane. But he'd need a way to convince the other directors that we were really a threat."

"As if just dealing with Sloane wasn't enough," Weiss threw in, rolling his eyes. Sydney smiled a little at his sense of humor.

"So what do we do?" I asked her.

"My dad thinks we should leave, try and use a different computer to contact your father. He doesn't even know if any of the attempts last night went through or if they all just got re-routed," she explained.

"Sloane could be re-routing them to try and get information on Irina's contact protocols," I stated. Sydney nodded a little, understanding what I was saying. If Sloane re-routed our attempts to contact my father, he could have the information he needed to impersonate Irina and contact him himself, effectively leaving us with nothing. "How did he tap into the signal?"

"I don't know," Sydney answered, "but we should get going."


	40. Chapter Forty

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **tine, Gils, Eyghon, Jackie, **and **derevkobristow-spawn **for your reviews of chapter 39! I'm currently trying to decide if I want to continue this story into a full 22 'episode' arc like on the show, or leave off after eleven. (Chapter forty-one will be the start of Episode 11.) I have the ideas, so what I need from you, my loyal readers, is would anyone still be interested in this if it became about twice as long? We're talking 80-90 chapters for the finished product, which is a pretty epic storyline in my book. I don't want to drag this out forever, and while ending it with eleven episodes will still leave things pretty open-ended, it might be easier than trying to tie it all back together and come to some kind of an 'end'. Anyway, I haven't made my decision yet, so let me know what you think. I'll stop rambling now - enjoy chapter 40!

OOOOO

I managed to spread the word about Sloane's possible knowledge of our whereabouts to everyone else, and before long, everyone gathered in the living room once more, ready to leave. My father briefly explained that he thought we had a pretty good place to stay for now, and he only wanted to leave if we had to. However, he stopped explaining when he heard the sound of a helicopter somewhere close to the safe house.

"All right," he stated after a pause to ensure that the sound was indeed a helicopter. "We can't all make it out of here as one large group, or we're in the same situation. Here's what I want you to do. Nadia, you go with Kendall, get back to the Rotunda. Explain that you know nothing of our whereabouts, and that you're simply there to provide information on Sloane.

"Dixon, I want you with Weiss and Will. I already sent a notice to Will's CO at the program, he knows you're coming. He'll give you somewhere safe to stay until we can make our next move, and tell Newman he knows nothing. For the moment, I believe he's on our side," he continued, directing everyone into smaller groups so we'd be harder to track.

"Sydney, Vaughn, you'll come with Irina and me," he finished. "Once we get word on where Rambaldi's final artifact is, we can organize an op from there."

"How are we gonna get out of here? All we have is the jet," Will stated, looking at my father in question.

"There's a car out back, you three take that and make your way out of here _after _Sloane's team is here. Too early and they'll go after you," my father answered. "Nadia and Kendall will take the jet. In all probability, Sloane will follow you as far as he can, but when he realizes you're returning to the Rotunda, he'll back off. It's likely he'll think that there's no one on-board, that we already know that Director Newman is working with him and we wouldn't hand ourselves over like that."

"And the rest of us make a run for it?" I questioned, looking over at my father. He nodded.

"Yes. We should be able to make it into the woods undetected, and we'll go from there once we're clear," he answered. "All right. Let's move."

The room sprung instantly into a kind of organized chaos. Nadia and Kendall ran out the front to the CIA charter jet, still sitting on the airstrip where it rested for the past day. My father led the way across the airstrip and behind the jet into the woods, hoping to create the illusion that we got on the jet as well. Everyone knew that the four of us had to be Sloane's main target. After all, we made up the core of the group that would go after the greatest power, so it made sense. If he didn't think we were on the plane, he'd track us into the woods and the diversion would be useless.

"Wait here," my father said after a moment. Instinctively, I dropped into a crouching position, making myself a smaller target. A quick glance around told me that Vaughn and my mother did the same thing, looking off after my father as he ran back towards the edge of the trees.

For a moment, it was eerily quiet. Then the jet started, and a dull roar filled my ears. I looked up to see not one military helicopter circling the area, but two. Instantly, I knew our plan had a _very _serious flaw.

"Dad!" I called out, trying to get my father's attention. Of course, with the noise generated by the jet, it was impossible. I reached over to Vaughn, tapping his arm and pointing up at the sky. His eyes immediately followed the line of my fingers, and I could see the surprise on his face when he noticed the second helicopter.

Once I had his attention, I nodded to my mother, wanting him to get her attention and make sure she noticed the other aircraft. The jet moved on down the airstrip, and a quick glance at the sky told me that one of the helicopters started following it. The other, however, moved to land in the open area that the jet just vacated.

I moved through the trees, staying low and navigating my way around to find my father. I didn't want to split our group up any further, but if Sloane was in that helicopter, he wouldn't stop looking until he found something. I figured it would be less damaging for him to locate some of us than to locate _all _of us.

I tried calling out to my father again, now that it was quieter. The helicopter was still going, but managed to land on the airstrip. I saw Sark jump out, keeping his head low and away from the propeller, and hold the door open for Sloane. Figuring my father went back towards my mother and Vaughn, I turned around to make my way back through the woods.

It was disorienting trying to make my way through the maze of trees with my head ducked low, and the wind and noise that the helicopter made behind me. I tried to maneuver through the woods, but before long, I felt I was lost. I tried not to panic, keeping my eyes locked on the ground and taking note of some of the different features of the trees so I didn't start moving in circles. I tried to listen for any of the others calling out to me, which became easier when the helicopter turned off. The whine died down, and I slowed my pace, leaning back against a tree and looking around.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped, but then sighed in relief, thinking it was my father. I smiled a little, despite the fact that I still didn't trust him and he startled me, and turned around. The man standing behind me, however, was _not _my father.

It was Sloane.

"Hello, Sydney."

OOOOO

After pointing out the second helicopter to me, and leaving it to me to show Irina, Sydney took off through the trees in search of her father. I tried to catch her arm, to tell her to wait where we were, but she darted off before I had the chance. As the second helicopter touched down on the airstrip, Jack came running back to where Irina and I were.

"Where's Sydney?" he asked immediately, shouting to be heard over the noise of the helicopter.

"Looking for you," I replied. He turned, looking back towards the airstrip.

"Jack, we have to go!" Irina shouted. She had the laptop with her, and looked rather eager to get out of the way before someone came looking for us.

"What about Sydney?" I asked.

"If she can't find us, she'll go to Dixon. We'll contact Will's CO the moment we're out of here, make sure she's all right," Jack offered. Before I could protest, he cut me off. "If we stay here, there's a good chance Sloane will send his men in after us, and we're sitting ducks with no weapons. We _have_ to move."

Reluctantly, I agreed with him. Waiting here would get all of us captured, and running after Sydney was suicide. Once she knew she couldn't get back to us, she would either go to Dixon or make it out on her own. Right now, the most important thing was getting away from Sloane before he found all four of us.

So, despite my concern for her, I followed Jack and Irina deeper into the woods. Eventually, the drone of the helicopter was far behind us, and the three of us were able to talk in normal tones. After running for almost twenty minutes, Irina – who led the way – stopped and looked back towards the safe house we just left.

"All right," she said, looking over at Jack, slightly out of breath. "We'll need to contact someone with access to a safe computer. This one won't do us any good, Sloane's monitoring the signal."

"Right. It has to be somewhere quiet, somewhere that no one will notice us," Jack replied. Irina looked at him for a moment, and I could see that the two of them were trying to brainstorm. It amazed me to see them working together, despite everything, and I had to wonder for a moment how he managed to forgive her for what she did to him.

"I can't contact anyone unless we get to a phone," Irina finally said. "Katya may have a computer we can access. She was on her way here the last time we spoke, I asked that she keep her eye on Director Newman."

"A smart move, I'm sure," Jack replied. Irina smiled at him, and he smiled back. Just like at the safe house, the two seemed to ignore me completely. "Once we contact her, we might be able to reach Bill."

"There's nothing out here. We'll have to make our way to the highway," Irina observed, glancing around. She reached into the laptop case she carried, pulling out a cell phone. "I have a GPS system here but I'm not sure it will work. We might have to get to higher ground."

"All right. If nothing else, we can head back to the safe house. We might have to wait until tomorrow morning, just to make sure no one is waiting for us. Better that than getting lost in the woods," Jack continued. After a moment, he looked over at me, evidently noticing my silence for the first time. "I'm sure Sydney's fine. She may have even waited this out like we did, and we'll all meet up at the safe house again."

"If Sloane was in that helicopter, he'll comb these woods until he finds _something_," I finally stated. "Whether he finds us first or her first, that's the only way he's leaving. Since we're further in, I'm guessing he's not going to find us first."

"We don't have anything to go on right now," Jack said after a moment. "Let's wait this out, at least for now. Once we're sure that the helicopter has left the airstrip, we'll make our way back to the phone and then head for the highway from there. I'm sure the GPS will work in that clearing."

"If Sloane does have Sydney, he'll use her for a bargaining chip," Irina said to me, ignoring Jack for the moment. "He won't hurt her until he's sure he can get away with it."

"I wouldn't put _anything _past Arvin Sloane," I replied flatly. "But, I will trust you two and your experience in this, since you know him better than I do. You already know what'll happen if you're wrong."

"Understood," Irina acknowledged. I could see that Jack was annoyed with my words, but the look she shot him quieted him instantly. "Let's find somewhere to camp for tonight."

OOOOO

I came to chained to a wall. My hands were raised to my shoulder level, a position that was comfortable for the moment but would become very uncomfortable after several hours like this. I groaned when I tried to open my eyes, realizing that I felt a stabbing pain in the side of my head where Sloane hit me with the butt of his gun to knock me out. The last thing I remembered was hitting the ground like a sack of bricks.

When I finally got my eyes open, it took a moment to adjust to the darkness of this room. I couldn't see much of anything, beyond the basic outline of a door directly in front of me. I stood against the far wall, my arms locked into some kind of manacles. I tested the movement they allowed, finding that I could pull my arms about an inch away from the wall. My legs were chained as well, allowing me about an inch of mobility just like my arms.

I remained there, alone and quite literally in the dark, for quite some time. Thanks to the pain in the side of my head and the fact that I couldn't glance at my watch, if it wasn't broken yet, I had no way of keeping track of the time. Eventually, though, I knew someone would be in to check on me.

_That is, assuming they don't just leave me here to die of starvation or something_, I thought, trying to banish the possible horrors that lay ahead from my mind. After all, our whole group had split up without a sure way of contacting anyone. It could be days before anyone even _realized _that Sloane abducted me.

Finally, the door swung open, bringing me out of my thoughts. The light in the hall was a bit brighter, but not much. I saw a form enter the room, and then a single light in the center of the room clicked on. It was still horribly dim, but I could see Sloane standing in front of me. I narrowed my eyes, my hatred rising to the surface just as it did every other time I laid eyes on him.

"Sydney. I must confess; I hoped I would end up finding someone else outside that safe house. The thought of bringing you here was the last thing I wanted," he began as he came into the room, stopping a good foot away from me.

"Save it," I snapped. "I don't want your sympathy." He didn't say anything for a long moment, and then he smiled.

"Very well," he replied.

"Why am I here?" I questioned. He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at me seriously.

"I fell for your father's game, Sydney," he started. "Thinking he had really remained my friend all along, that he really harbored some secret interest in Rambaldi. That was my mistake, and I let him get away with Rambaldi's message. You're here because I need that message."

"Like I would ever give it to you," I shot back.

"Oh, I'm sure you will," Sloane replied, still calm despite my obvious fury. "I know there were several of you at that safe house in Utah. Your entire group scattered. It could be days before they even realize that you've gone missing."

"Fine. Torture me. You won't get anything," I replied. Sloane smiled a little, nodding in agreement.

"You already know what it's like to be tortured for an extended period of time," he explained. I clenched my jaw, wanting to keep from showing any emotion at his words. "When you were held by the Covenant? You remember what that felt like, don't you?

"Every time that door opens, you'll hate it," he continued, gesturing back to the door he stepped through a moment ago. "It scares you. 'What is it this time? How much will it hurt? How long before I give up what I know, or until I'm unconscious? Or will they simply tire of this game and kill me?' I'll tell you, Sydney, I've met men who will _beg _to be killed." He smiled at me.

"But you won't, will you?" he questioned, still smirking as if he revealed some secret he wasn't supposed to know. I knew that smile – his famous 'cat that ate the canary' look. He gloried in the power he held over me. Enjoying his position. "You'll curse me until the bitter end."

He turned away with a sigh, the smile falling from his face as he walked back to the door. I could see one of his guards there, another member of his seemingly inexhaustible entourage. I only realized I held my breath during our encounter when my lungs started to burn for fresh air, letting it out slowly so I didn't let Sloane know he actually managed to frighten me.

After a moment, he turned back to look at me. I could see the familiar gleam in his eye, knowing he had the upper hand. But there was a look of regret there as well. For a second, it entered my mind that he might actually regret having to threaten and possibly torture me.

"I want you to think about that," he finally said. "Think about how long this might go on if you don't tell me what I want to know."

"If you're going to threaten me, you might want to try making it believable," I shot at him sarcastically. Of course, I already believed him, and he knew that. But it wouldn't be our normal interaction if I just allowed him to walk out, thinking I was going to submit to him easily.

He stared at me for a moment, and one corner of his mouth turned up.

"There's always another way to access the information I need," he said. "And if you won't tell me, I'm sure that – threatened with your torture and execution – Mister Vaughn will."


	41. Chapter Forty One

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Eyghon, tine, Gils, Jackie, **and **maggieann452 **for reviews on chapter 40! I got a pretty unanimous vote for a whole 22 episode season, so I guess we'll be shooting for that! Sorry it took me a whole week to get this one up, and I'll try to get more written so everyone doesn't have to wait so long next time. Enjoy chapter 41 and please keep reviewing - it really makes my day! Thanks!

**First Contact  
**EPISODE 4.11

Jack and Irina continued their quiet discussions and brainstorming sessions throughout the night, one or the other occasionally wandering off to look around, make sure that our position remained safe. Jack assured me a couple of times that Sydney went to Dixon, or she waited in the woods as we did. Of course, the longer this went on, the less I believed him.

I didn't know Sloane as well as either of them, but I wasn't stupid. He wouldn't go to all the trouble of getting two helicopters and tracking our location to just leave with nothing. It was possible that he was in the other helicopter – the one that flew after the charter jet back to Los Angeles, but I doubted it. He'd want to be here himself – he would land in the field. And, if he did, he wouldn't leave without finding _something_.

"It's getting light. We'll make our way to a clearing somewhere, or to higher ground and to the highway from there," Jack said, coming back to our small 'campground' from somewhere else in the woods.

"What about going back to the safe house?" Irina questioned.

"If someone from Sloane's detail stayed behind, it's too great a risk. He might expect us to return to that location, and we can't take that chance," Jack replied. He glanced over at me.

"Sloane has Sydney doesn't he?" I questioned before he could say anything. He sighed, silent for a long moment before nodding.

"There's a good chance," he finally said, not wanting to give me false reassurance but not wanting to give a straight answer either. I shook my head in disbelief.

"And I let you two talk me into running out here into the middle of _nowhere_," I muttered under my breath, not really caring whether Jack heard me or not.

"Vaughn, if Sloane _did _abduct Sydney, he wouldn't do it just to kill her," he started again, beginning the same 'bargaining chip' speech I got from Irina the night before. "As long as he doesn't find the rest of us, she's got a good chance."

"No, a _good _chance would have been not just running away," I shot back, my voice rising as I got to my feet, staring right at him. He looked at me in question for a long moment, expecting me to look away. "And, for the record, I'm not _afraid _of you, so you can stop wasting your time trying to intimidate me."

"Oh, yes, this is _very _mature," Irina threw in, looking at both of us. "Let's get into a stupid fight over who owns the playground." I immediately looked over at her, seeing that Jack did the same thing. "You're both acting like you're eleven years old. Can we drop it and get moving?"

"This is _not_ running away," Jack snapped, shooting another glare at me. I walked right up to him, knowing that I came off as at least a little threatening when he glanced back over his shoulder, looking to see if he had enough room to take a step backwards. Before I could say anything, however, Irina's cell phone went off, the Nokia ring tone echoing through the area where the three of us stood.

"Thank _god_," she muttered under her breath, turning and snatching the phone. She elected not to use it to try and call Katya the night before, figuring that Sloane probably tagged the phone as well as the computer. She didn't seem to think much of it now, probably because of the 'argument' between Jack and I, as she answered the phone.

"Hello?" she asked. There was a pause, and I could see the expression on her face change as she looked over at me. Jack turned and walked away, taking several strides away from me to disengage from our argument. "Yes, why?" I glanced over at Jack, seeing that he was as curious about who was on the other end of the call as I felt. "And why is it that you're so determined to speak with Agent Vaughn?" There was another pause as Irina listened for a reply. After a moment, she lowered the phone from her ear, extending it to me. I didn't bother asking who it was, just snatched it from her hand.

"What?" I snapped, glaring over at Jack again to make sure he knew the anger I felt was more directed at him than whoever was on the phone. However, that was only the case until I heard the voice on the other end.

"Someone ought to teach you proper phone etiquette, Mister Vaughn," Sloane's voice practically purred from the other end of the connection. "Next time you're so rude without proper justification, I may just hang up."

"What the hell have you done to Sydney?" I questioned, ignoring his taunting small talk.

"Ah, straight to business," he replied. I could almost hear him smile. "I haven't done anything to Sydney. Not _yet_. Of course, what happens from here depends on what both of you are willing to tell me.

"I have a bit of a predicament," he continued. "Rambaldi's Sphere of Life contained a message that would lead a person to his greatest power. Now, I'm convinced that Sydney will give me the content of that message – that's not the problem I have. What I need from you is a location."

"I don't know anything," I snapped, cutting him off.

"I understand," Sloane replied almost immediately. "However, if you want to guarantee Miss Bristow's continued safety in this, you'll get that information for me."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" I questioned.

"I re-directed all of your efforts to contact your father yesterday, through one of my passive servers to make it look like an attack on the server room at the Rotunda in Los Angeles," Sloane began. "From this point on, the re-routing will not take place. Once you contact him, I want a location."

"And if I give that information to you, you let Sydney go," I stated, not phrasing my comment like a question to make him realize I wasn't bargaining on this.

"Not necessarily, no," he answered. "If I agreed to that, you would simply give me the wrong location. Leave me chasing my tail. So, I won't be letting Sydney go anytime soon. What I _will _do is allow you to meet me at that location, where the greatest power lies. Once we're all there, I'll get what I came for and _then _I'll let Sydney go.

"Considering that you're still lost somewhere in the middle of the woods, I'll give you a bit of leeway on the timeline," Sloane continued. "I want a location within three days, Mister Vaughn. Or Sydney Bristow will be executed."

And then he hung up.

For a long moment, I couldn't even bring myself to lower the phone from the side of my head. I could feel that both Jack and Irina were staring at me, waiting for me to make some kind of a move or say something. Finally, I lowered the phone, handing it back to Irina.

"What is it? Was it Sloane?" Jack asked, the anger and annoyance with me now gone from his voice. I just nodded.

"He has Syd," I replied quietly. "He wants to know when we meet with my father – he wants the location of Rambaldi's greatest power."

"And he'll let her go if we give him a location?" Jack questioned.

"No," I answered, shaking my head. "And he wants the location within seventy-two hours, or he's gonna kill her."

OOOOO

After standing in the dark room, all alone, for several hours, I started to get hungry. I didn't know how long Sloane planned to leave me there, or if it was some part of his plan to get me to talk. I believed what he said about getting information out of Vaughn, though. _He might not even try to interrogate me_, I realized. _He might just threaten Vaughn and make _him_ talk._

I rationalized that Sloane picked up on that weakness while all of us were in Algeria. Of course, once he disappeared from the warehouse and the sphere was already open, I didn't think he would have the opportunity to capitalize on that knowledge. Now, I wished that I took that into consideration.

All of that was just hindsight though, and while it might give me a better idea of what might happen somewhere down the road, it didn't help me get out of this room. A situation that I was, sadly, all too familiar with.

Finally, the door opened again. The light clicked on, and Sloane stepped into the room. This time, he closed the door behind him. I could see that the door was made of metal, but didn't look too strong. The chains around my wrists and ankles, however, were a completely different matter.

"I wish I could offer you a more comfortable position, but we both know the second I tried to move you, you would attempt an escape," Sloane started, coming to the center of the room and standing in front of me. "So, we'll just hope Mister Vaughn comes through for us with a location before this becomes even more… Uncomfortable."

"Even if you get a location, you're never getting beyond that," I replied, shaking my head a little. Sloane looked at me for a long moment.

"What did Rambaldi say to you, Sydney? I realize it may be nothing of consequence, but I'm curious," he replied. I could see the intent gleam in his eye – the one he always got when he spoke about Rambaldi. "It must have been something of great interest, to hold your attention as it did."

"Not much, actually," I shot back, sarcasm dripping from my voice. "He actually stared asking me about the weather. Wanted to know what it was like this time of year." I could see the fury building on Sloane's face as I spoke. I opened my mouth to say more, when he came forward and hit me sharply in the face with the back of his hand. For a moment, I was too stunned to register the pain, and then I looked at him in shock.

"I think of you like a daughter Sydney," he said through clenched teeth.

"Well you should stop, cuz it just makes me sick," I shot back, my expression equally angry. He narrowed his eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"You should think very carefully about your position," he stated calmly, each word metered and precise. "I don't need to prove that you are still alive to get what I want." He turned to go.

"He told me to find the greatest power," I started. Sloane turned back to me, thinking that I might actually provide him with some useful information. "And he told me to keep it away from you."

"I'll see you again shortly," Sloane assured me, smiling sadistically one last time before he stepped out of the room.

OOOOO

Time dragged on. I fought against the chains on my wrists and ankles, to the point of bruising my skin. There was only so long I could hold out in here, chained to the wall. There was only so long that Vaughn would hold out on Sloane. I knew he didn't even have to lay a hand on me – just the threats would be enough.

Just like in Algeria.

Which meant that I needed to get out of here, before Sloane caught up. The fact that I couldn't keep track of time frustrated me, and I knew he did that on purpose. The less I knew, the less I could use against him. I hated that he was so smart.

"Don't move." I froze, hearing a voice whisper to me suddenly. I glanced slightly to my left, not moving my head in the process, seeing a dark shape standing beside me. "If you make too much noise, the guards will hear you through the air shaft."

"Nadia?" I asked, recognizing my sister's voice. "How did you get here?"

"I'll explain – we have to go," she replied. She stepped carefully around me, her stealth skills matching my own. I saw a lock-picking kit strapped to her belt, and she set to work on the chains around my ankles first. I kept dead silent; occasionally moving my arms as I was before her arrival, so the guards didn't notice anything different.

Once she freed both my feet, she turned her attention to my arms. Being able to lower them for the first time in hours was possibly one of the best feelings I ever experienced. I shook my hands to get the blood back into my fingers – not an easy process – and followed Nadia back to an air vent in the floor that I hadn't even seen there when Sloane came inside for his 'visits'.

Nadia motioned to me to be silent as we moved through the airshaft. I could hear voices coming from somewhere in front of us, figuring those were the guards she mentioned. _Sloane certainly didn't want me getting out of here_, I thought as I followed my sister back through the maze of shafts.

After several minutes, we came to a large grate in another wall. I realized that Sloane held me on an upper floor of whatever building this was. Clever, considering that anyone looking for me would search the basement and sub-levels first, thinking that was the most logical choice. Nadia stopped at the grate, pulling the black hood off her head and looking out into the corridor.

"They'll go back upstairs soon. We'll have to wait until they do," she stated, her voice barely audible even to me. I nodded in agreement, trying to look over her shoulder and out into the hall. I could see a couple of figures there, both male and obviously carrying guns tucked in their belts. They laughed about something, but we were too far away to hear the actual words.

"No. Everything's already in place," Sloane's voice boomed through the vent suddenly, nearly making me jump. He stepped up right beside the wall grate, and Nadia threw her arm back across my chest, pushing me back so he didn't see us. I could see the back of his head, and he held a cell phone to his ear. "Yes. We're ready for the final phase."

He nodded to the two guards. They immediately became serious, going further down the hall to what I assumed was a stairway. They headed back to the floor where Sloane thought I was. We didn't have much time before he realized I was missing. He nodded a little as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line, starting off after the guards.

"No, I'm sure she doesn't know anything," he stated, shaking his head a little. I kept my eyes locked on him even as Nadia started moving, unfastening the grate as quietly as possible, less concerned with the noise as Sloane got further and further away from us. "Because I _know _Jack Bristow. He wouldn't say anything. Even if he knows the true aim of the project."

"Come on," Nadia whispered to me, pushing the grate open at one corner. I glanced down at her, crouching in the tunnel and ready to make a break for it. Then, my eyes returned to Sloane.

"It's already taken care of," he continued. "Sydney Bristow is already in my custody, and I'll have the location within forty-eight hours. Once I have that, I'll do what I have to so she activates it."

"Sydney!" Nadia hissed. "We have to go – those guards will be back any second when they realize you're not there." I shot one more glance at Sloane, and reluctantly followed Nadia out through the grate. Sloane started up the stairs, giving the two of us the chance we needed to run down the hall and escape.

"How the _hell_ did you know where I was?" I asked her once we were outside, moving through the back alleys of the industrial district of some city I didn't immediately recognize. She glanced back at me, obviously leading the way somewhere.

"That building is a Covenant outpost. My father brought me there shortly after I agreed to help him find Rambaldi's artifact," Nadia started. "I met Sark there, just before the op in Russia where I shot you."

"But how did you know that's where Sloane would take me?" I continued, wanting to understand how exactly my sister managed to rescue me when no one else even knew where to start looking.

"It's the closest outpost to the safe house in Utah," Nadia answered, shrugging a little. "Why did you try to listen to that phone call?"

"It's a long story," I replied. "Where are we going?"

"There's a place we can stay not far from here. It's not a sanctioned safe house under CIA or Argentine Intelligence, but I know the man who owns it. He won't betray us," Nadia replied with a slight smile back in my direction.

"I certainly hope not."


	42. Chapter Forty Two

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Gils, Tine, derevkobristow-spawn, Jackie, **and **Eyghon **for reviewing chapter 41! Once again, I'm sorry it's taking me so long to update, but I'm trying to get some more work done tonight so it should be a shorter wait this time around! Hope everyone enjoys chapter 42, and please review as always! Thanks!

OOOOO

After managing to find a way out of the woods and to a large enough clearing, Irina used her cell phone's GPS system to locate the nearest highway. I thought it was bad planning on Jack's part that he didn't have a car or some kind of transportation arranged for us, but kept it to myself. Besides, it wasn't like he expected Sloane to come after all of us so quickly, and probably thought that everyone would leave at the same time to go and meet with my father.

I still couldn't get my head around the thought that he was alive somewhere. That he'd been out there, my whole life, and I didn't know anything about it until almost thirty years later. Even the agency thought he was dead. I had to wonder if Thomas Brill knew he was alive, if that knowledge was somehow linked to Project Prodigy, and that was why he refused to tell me anything.

Of course, none of that mattered much to me at the moment. What _did_ matter was that Sloane captured Sydney, and that he threatened to kill her if we didn't tell him where the greatest power was sometime in the next three days.

It was Jack's idea to hitch a ride with an older man driving a pickup truck, instructing him to take us to a town where we'd have access to a private phone. The man wanted to stop at the first phone booth, but Jack managed to convince him to keep driving. I couldn't tell if he bribed him or threatened him, but supposed it didn't really matter. As long as we got to a reasonably safe location, I didn't care _what _he did.

Finally, the three of us arrived in a small town just inside the Utah border. Irina took over leadership of the group effortlessly, and I found myself once again surprised by the way she and Jack accepted what they went through and worked so well together.

"Once we contact Katya, we should be able to resume an attempt to reach your father," Jack explained to me, as we followed Irina in through the back door of an old storage warehouse. She wanted somewhere that would have a phone, but somewhere quiet and easy to escape from in case something went wrong. "It shouldn't take long, now that the attempts at contact aren't being re-routed."

I didn't say anything – just nodded my understanding. I could see the concerned glances he shot in my direction every now and then. I knew that he and Irina both felt concerned about what might happen to Sydney. We had three days to contact my father and get a location, which didn't seem like a very long time. I figured Sloane had to give us some kind of leeway, but there was no guarantee.

The three of us made our way into the warehouse and up to the second floor. Irina immediately went to the phone, setting her bag down on the desk beside it and pulling some kind of anti-tracking device out. She attached it to the phone cord, lifting the receiver and dialing a long series of numbers. Jack stepped up beside her and put the call on speakerphone.

I leaned back against a nearby table, watching the two of them as Irina read a long series of numbers to Jack, and he dialed them into the phone. I knew it was some kind of location code, and I couldn't keep track of all the numbers. It amazed me that the two of them could, but then again, there was a _lot_ about their recent actions that I found strange.

"All right," Irina finally said. There was a pause, and then the phone began ringing on the other end. On the third ring, someone picked up, answering in Russian. The conversation that followed was too quick for me to follow, as Russian was not one of the languages I could easily translate.

"Irina," a familiar voice finally sounded from the other end of the line. "I wondered when you might call."

"We need access to a secure computer connection," Irina told her sister, foregoing the small talk for the sake of our time frame. "Something fast, we haven't got a lot of time."

"Of course. Is this about the attacks on the server at the CIA?" Katya questioned.

"That was Sloane, not us," Irina answered immediately. "And, yes, this is related to that."

"I'll set something up. You should know, there was a bit of a disturbance here last night. Jack asked me to watch Director Newman, and it seems something happened that didn't exactly please him," Katya explained.

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"I don't know for sure," Katya replied. "All I know is that he tried to take someone into custody, someone that was worked you, and that person escaped before he had the chance."

"Nadia," Irina whispered. She seemed lost in thought for a moment, and then returned her attention to the conversation. "Thank you, Katya. We'll be in touch soon." Before anything more was said, Irina hung up the phone.

"I'll try to contact the others with CO Everson, see if they know anything," Jack said, sitting down to use the phone as well. I watched him for a moment, and then turned my attention to Irina, who stood and walked over to the large windows, looking out at nothing. I knew she felt worried about both her daughters, Sydney and Nadia, but figured there was nothing I could say to help. After all, _she _was trying to comfort _me _the night before; I figured I couldn't do much for her.

I glanced at the small cell phone again, the one that Sloane had used to call that morning and inform us of his 'deal'. Irina let me hang onto it, figuring that if Sloane called again, he would just want to speak with me anyway. It would be easier if I had the phone in the first place.

"Vaughn." I looked up in surprise, seeing that Jack held the receiver of the phone out towards me. "Weiss." I nodded, stepping over and taking the phone from him.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked immediately, feeling a little relieved that at least one of my friends had made it out of the safe house without problems.

"Everson just got a call from the Rotunda, thought you guys might like to know," Weiss explained. "And, to be honest, I'd rather not tell Jack directly, because, well… He frightens me." I smiled a little at that.

"Right. What happened?"

"Apparently, Kendall sided with bureaucracy," Weiss replied with a tired sigh. "He got back to LA and tried to turn Nadia in, insisting that she knew the plan and what was going on. She escaped, though. No one knows where she is. Newman called here, looking for any sign of us or her."

"Everson covered?" I questioned, glancing up at Jack. He was, as I suspected, listening in on my side of the conversation.

"Yeah, he took care of it. For the moment, he's on our side, but I don't know how long that might last," Weiss replied. "Did you guys get out of there okay?"

"No, not really," I answered honestly. I didn't want to explain everything to him, but ended up mentioning that Sloane had abducted Sydney and we presently had three days to get to my father and get a location on the next piece of the Rambaldi puzzle before she was executed.

"Man… Listen, when we find that guy, count me in for a piece of that, all right?" Weiss questioned. I smiled a little at his eagerness to stop Sloane, nodding to myself.

"Yeah," I replied. "I will."

OOOOO

Jack, Irina and I waited for three hours inside the warehouse, trying to figure out what our next move would be and when Katya might call with information on a secure computer. Mostly, Jack and Irina did the strategizing, while I paced nervously around the second floor of the warehouse. Occasionally, one of them would glance over at me, trying to figure out if I was all right or not, and then go back to whatever they were doing.

Because it was so quiet for several hours, I nearly leapt out of my skin when Irina's cell phone rang. I looked gravely over at her and Jack, and then returned my attention to the phone. I took a deep breath, trying to prepare myself for whatever waited for me on the other end.

"Hello?" I answered, swallowing thickly and waiting to hear the voice on the other end.

"Mister Vaughn," Sark replied. "I apologize. I know you must look forward to a second conversation with Mister Sloane, but he is otherwise occupied at the moment."

"So is this just some kind of a reminder?" I questioned, hearing the anger in my own voice as I spoke. I knew if it was Sloane on the other end, I would still be angry. But, with Sark, it was personal. "Because I already know the deal."

"Of course. I was just simply calling in order to remind you that you will have to access a computer within the next few hours if you actually want to complete all of this within that time frame," Sark replied, still as stoic as ever. I didn't know why, but his lack of emotion just served to piss me off even more.

"Maybe you should stop keeping tabs on us and find something better to do with your time," I snapped.

"I'll be sure to relay that message to Mister Sloane," Sark answered. "Any other requests?" I remained silent for a moment.

"I want to speak with Sydney," I replied, my voice quieting as the rage lessened. I heard Sark chuckle a little, and knew he had to have the biggest grin on his face as he answered.

"Again I apologize, but Miss Bristow is not currently available," Sark told me. "Mister Sloane expressed a desire to question her further, and I do believe they are… In the midst of something."

"I swear to god, when I find you," I hissed, not bothering to finish my threat.

"You'll what?" Sark asked, obviously not fazed. "Break my nose again? I really don't see how that's going to help. Especially considering that doing it for information is quite different than for revenge."

"I want her on the phone, _now_," I demanded again.

"You misunderstand your position, Mister Vaughn," Sark began. "You have nothing to use against me. If you decide against compliance, I assure you that Sydney Bristow will be killed. If you wish to comply, nothing says that I have to let you speak with her."

"I'm _really_ going to enjoy seeing you locked in a cell for the rest of your life," I snapped.

"I'm sure you would."

OOOOO

"This is it." I looked over at Nadia, returning my attention to the building in front of us. It was an old, worn down house of sorts, and most of the roof was missing. It didn't look like much, but I knew from experience that those types of places tended to be safer than others. No one would bother raiding an old abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, New Mexico. "We'll stay here for tonight, and then head for Utah again in the morning."

"Okay," I agreed. Nadia led the way inside, greeting a man I assumed to be the guard in Spanish on our way up the stairs to the second floor. She opened the door to the one of the side rooms, letting me go inside first. There was an old, worn mattress on the floor in one corner. I saw a sink and some counter space, along with a small fridge and a microwave.

"I doubt there's any good food here, but it's better than nothing," Nadia said, mostly to herself, as she walked over to the fridge. I walked over to the mattress, sinking down into a sitting position. I looked down at my wrists, seeing that both of them were bruised from straining against the chains Sloane locked me in. "Are you hungry?"

"Uh… Yeah, I guess," I replied quietly. Nadia nodded a little, busying herself for several moments with making food. Neither of us said anything more until she brought a couple of plates of what looked like some kind of chicken casserole dish over to where I sat, handing me one before she sat down on the floor across from me. "Why did you come after me like that?"

"I heard about what happened in Utah when I got back to Los Angeles," Nadia began, eating even as she explained. Even though I didn't really feel hungry, I figured I should eat as well. "Kendall tried to turn me in. He thought that I would expose all of you. He didn't believe that Newman worked with Sloane – he thought it was all part of the ruse."

"So he tried to turn you in. Sided with Newman, thinking that his allegiance was a part of my father's game," I replied. Nadia nodded in agreement.

"When I learned what he planned to do, I escaped," she continued. "I left the Rotunda. I just realized that Kendall was going to turn me in, and Newman was about to arrest me when he got a call from Sloane. He said something about you, and I got the feeling he knew where you were. Since he didn't mention the others, I figured that Sloane found you. So, I went to the Covenant outpost here in New Mexico."

"Where you found me," I finished. She nodded again, taking the opportunity to take another large bite of food. "You just… Guessed?"

"I've been trained as a spy too," she replied with a smile. "Based on what Newman said, the fact that there were two helicopters at the other safe house… I knew you were in trouble."

"So you broke into the Covenant outpost, snuck through the air vents and saved me," I stated.

"Yes."

"Why?" Nadia looked up at me in surprise, wondering why I would ask such a thing. "I mean… I'm sorry, but it just seems… Why would you risk yourself like that? I can only imagine what might have happened to you if Sloane found you there."

"I suppose it was because you saved me," Nadia replied with a genuine smile. I didn't say anything for a moment, but eventually I found myself smiling back at her. "And I meant what I said, when I apologized for Russia."

"Of course," I replied, nodding a little. She smiled again, and the two of us finished eating in silence. She took my plate from me, going back to the sink to clean them off. I sighed, glancing around. "I should find a phone, let the others know where we are."

"Not here," Nadia replied, looking back at me over her shoulder. "You can't call from so close to the outpost. There's a good chance they're monitoring most of these frequencies."

"Still, we can't let them think both of us disappeared. I mean, Sloane said he would try to manipulate Vaughn, get the location of Rambaldi's greatest power by threatening me," I replied, shaking my head a little.

"There's time. We can't risk getting caught again, especially now that we've managed to escape like this," Nadia explained, shaking her head. I sighed, knowing she was right but still wanting to find a phone and at least try to get in touch with my parents or with Vaughn.

"Yeah," I finally agreed. "I guess we'll try once we're further away." Nadia smiled at me.

"I'll go find us some pillows."


	43. Chapter Forty Three

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Chapter 43 and a whole day earlier than the last two weeks! Thanks to **Eyghon, Unsigned, Tine, Jackie, **and **derevkobristow-spawn **for reviewing chapter 42. I should have44 done by the end of the week, but posting depends on how fast I can get it edited, so we'll see how it goes. Please send in more wonderful reviews! Thanks, and enjoy the new chapter!

OOOOO

Despite the fact that I remained uncomfortable with the safe house Nadia led me to, my exhaustion eventually got the better of me. I managed to sleep rather peacefully that night, even though I was pretty sure something died in the mattress I slept on. The smell wasn't exactly the best, but I knew I wouldn't be much good strategy-wise if I didn't get some sleep.

Nadia woke me up the next morning a little after sunrise, suggesting the two of us get moving. I agreed, knowing that once we got a safe distance from the Covenant outpost, I could call my parents and Vaughn and let everyone know that Nadia and I were all right.

Once we made it past the New Mexico border, mostly by walking parallel to the highway but far enough away so that no one would really notice us, Nadia led the way to a second safe house. She felt pretty sure that no one would monitor this one, since we were far enough away from Sloane's location. Still, she asked me to keep the call as short as possible, giving me the number for a cell phone that our mother had in Algeria.

I dialed the phone, hoping that she still had it with her. After Sloane traced the signal on the computer, I had no idea if my parents got rid of the phone as well. However, as I had no other way to contact them and let them know Nadia and I were all right, I had to use that number. Thankfully, someone picked up on the second ring.

"Sark, if that's you, I _swear _I'll hang up the-"

"Vaughn, it's me," I interrupted. He was silent for a second, obviously trying to figure out why my voice was on the other end of the line.

"Syd?" he finally asked.

"Yeah," I replied, smiling a little as I spoke with him.

"Oh my god. What happened? Are you all right? Where's Sloane?" he questioned in a rush.

"I'm fine – Nadia found me in New Mexico last night. We're all right, we made it somewhere safe," I replied shortly. I didn't want to give any specific details, just in case. I didn't know if it was possible that Sloane kept tabs on this location, but didn't want to take the chance that he located Nadia and I again.

"Last night?" Vaughn echoed, sounding slightly confused.

"I couldn't call then. We were still too close to Sloane, Nadia figured he monitored the frequency at the safe house," I explained. There was a pause. "Why do you ask?"

"Sark called me late last night. Like, one AM," Vaughn replied after a moment. "Made it sound like Sloane still had you in custody or something." I sighed, nodding a little. I could hear the tension in his voice, and knew it hadn't been a pleasant conversation with Sark by any means. Both of us remained silent for a moment, and I suddenly had an idea.

"What if we play along?" I questioned.

"With what?" Vaughn asked.

"Sloane. He wants the location of Rambaldi's greatest power. He captured me to try and make you give him that location," I continued. "He thinks he convinced you that they still have me there."

"He knows you'll contact us the first chance you get," Vaughn replied.

"Yeah, but he doesn't know I'm with Nadia. He doesn't know how long it might take before I can contact you. If you can convince him that you don't know I escaped, we might be able to lure him into some kind of a trap," I explained.

"Tell him the location anyway, and then we're sure he's in a specific place at a specific time," Vaughn finished for me, understanding where I was going with this plan.

"Exactly," I replied. "All you would have to do is convince him that you haven't heard from me."

"All right," he answered. "I'll try it."

OOOOO

I had Jack and Irina's attention the second I answered the cell phone, and I could see the change in both of them the second I said Sydney's name. Neither of them even tried to interrupt me as Sydney and I discussed what our next move should be, and after a few moments, I hung up. I looked over at Jack and Irina, seeing both of them poised on the far side of the room, eyes locked on me.

"That was Sydney," I stated. Irina sighed, nodding a little and looking down at the floor. "Nadia found her in New Mexico, they're both safe."

"They're away from Sloane?" Jack questioned.

"Yeah," I replied. "Since last night, but they couldn't call until they were sure that Sloane wasn't tracing their signal."

"Sark called you _after_ Sydney escaped?" Jack asked, looking confused.

"Which means that Sloane is counting on her inability to contact us. He wants us to think she's still in his custody," Irina filled in. I nodded in agreement with her words, realizing that she and Sydney thought a lot alike.

"So all we have to do is make him think we believe that," I finished for her. She nodded a little, and I glanced over at Jack, seeing the fury written all over his face.

"Are you out of your mind?" he questioned. "Trying to convince Sloane that we believe Sydney is still in his custody? Do you have any idea how easy it will be for that man to see right through your charade?"

"He won't concentrate on simple behavior patterns – not this close to Rambaldi's endgame," Irina corrected, looking over at Jack.

"He has nothing on us, there is no upside to his involvement," Jack argued.

"Except that if we convince him we think he's got Syd and give him the location, we've got a guarantee on his whereabouts," I threw in. Jack looked over at me, and then returned his attention to Irina.

"We will have another chance to apprehend Arvin Sloane," he stated.

"When?" Irina asked. "Ten, fifteen years? This is the best chance we have to catch him in clear violation of his old pardon agreement by associating with Rambaldi. We won't _get _another chance like this."

"And what about Rambaldi? Sydney claims he told her _specifically_ to keep that artifact away from Sloane. Leading him to it is an unnecessary risk," Jack protested. "We have to find and destroy the one thing he wants, not offer it to him on a silver platter."

"What would you suggest? Telling him off? You remember how well that worked out for us last time – it almost got our daughter _executed_," Irina snapped, anger rising in her tone. "What do you think he will do the next time he catches up with us?"

"He can't – we're close to making contact with William Vaughn. By the time Sloane finds our trail, it will be too late," Jack continued. He finally stopped his argument with Irina and looked back at me. "Call Sydney back, she'll meet us here."

"I can't, they were moving," I replied. "Besides, I agree with Syd and Irina on this one – this is the best chance for us to catch Sloane."

"I can't believe the two of you," Jack said, shaking his head. "You're going to let Sloane get within feet, possibly inches, of Rambaldi's greatest power, and expect to come out ahead of the game?"

"So we call the directors of the CIA – we tell them all about Director Newman and his cooperation with Sloane. Bring down their whole operation," I replied.

"Thank you," Irina said, nodding in agreement with my words. "With enough backup, Sloane won't get that close."

"I'll call Weiss – he should be able to set something up," I stated, going back over to the phone that sat on the table and leaving Jack and Irina to their arguing. I found the small note that listed Everson's numbers and the ones for Weiss and Dixon, calling Weiss.

"Yeah?" he answered almost immediately.

"It's me, I need your help with something," I stated immediately.

"Sure, what's up?" he questioned.

"I need you to get in touch with one of the higher-ups at the agency. Go around Newman, however you work that out – just make sure he doesn't have a _clue _what you're doing," I stressed. I knew that the second Newman knew something, Sloane would know something, and we couldn't risk him finding out about our plan.

"All right, what am I setting up?" Weiss questioned. I heard him get a hold of a pad of paper, and he was scribbling notes as I spoke.

"We need back up. Nothing obvious, but we need as much force as possible. We're looking at taking Sloane down, maybe Sark too, but I'm not sure he'll be there," I continued.

"Okay, task force, gotcha. Where?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know – we don't have a location for sure yet," I answered. "Just make sure there's a team assembled to deploy within the next few days."

"Okay, three or four days, enough guys for Sloane… What the heck is going on?" he asked, now that we had all the important information out of the way.

"There's a plan – I can tell you about it later, right now I need you to make sure we've got support where we need it, all right?" I asked.

"Got it. I'll call you when it's done." He didn't say anything more before disconnecting. I glanced over at Irina and Jack. I could see that Irina had eventually won the argument, and Jack was standing beside the window, glaring at me.

"He's setting up backup for us," I stated. Irina nodded.

"We should get to a computer."

OOOOO

Katya called back about an hour later, giving us the location of a secure connection that we could tap into, without alerting Sloane – or anyone else for that matter – and send a message to my father. I could tell that Jack still felt upset about the plan to lure Sloane to Rambaldi's greatest power. But, unless he could suggest something safer that gave us a similar outcome, Irina made it pretty clear that this was the plan.

Once she sent the message, we had no choice but to wait. I kept glancing at the small cell phone, waiting for Sydney to call back, to reaffirm that she and Nadia were somewhere safe. I knew it would be hard to fool Sloane into thinking we hadn't heard from them, but I believed Irina was right. Sloane wouldn't concern himself with my behavior when he was this close to the greatest power.

"I understand that you want the agency to catch Sloane. Make him pay for what he's done," Jack said, drawing my attention suddenly. Irina paced by the small computer terminal in the basement of a small office building where we waited for anything from my father. "But do you really think this is the best course of action, considering what we stand to lose?"

"We don't even know what the greatest power _is_," I replied, glancing at him before returning my gaze to the computer across the room.

"That's exactly my point," Jack stated. "It could be a weapon of some kind, information that he could use to destroy countless lives… If he gets to it first, our situation will only get worse."

"Yeah, and if we tell him to shove it, that we know he doesn't have anything, he tracks us down again. Only, now he's pissed off and just kills someone," I shot back. "We covered all this already."

"Getting smart with me is not going to help your case," Jack snapped. I just rolled my eyes and ignored him for a moment. Finally, I looked over at him again.

"I get that you don't like me," I stated. He looked at me in question. "Frankly, I got tired of caring what your opinion was the second you told me to kill my wife." I could see the surprise in his eyes, despite the complete lack of emotion on his face. Before he could say anything, however, there was a beeping sound from the computer.

"We've got something," Irina stated, obviously having chosen not to get into the middle of another of my fights with Jack. I got to my feet, and I could hear Jack follow me over to the computer terminal. There was one new message. Irina opened it for all three of us to see.

Italy. Hotel at the Plaza Nita. Three PM local; the day after tomorrow. WV.


	44. Chapter Forty Four

**Disclaimer: **I just noticed that my Buffy-induced brain put 'Mutant Enemy ' on the first disclaimer and not 'Bad Robot'. Sorry for the mistake, I meant Bad Robot, I'm just used to ME.

**A/N: **Thanks to **Gils, tine, **and **Jackie **for reviewing chatper 43! As promised, here is chapter 44. 45 is in the works right now, and should be up by Wednesday. Enjoy and please review!

OOOOO

Nadia and I navigated our way through Utah overnight, sticking to back roads and small towns and keeping away from other people. At first, I thought she was a little paranoid, but realized that caution was useful and better than Sloane catching us by surprise. We made it close to the safe house that Sloane raided, and stopped again. I figured I should try calling Vaughn again to make sure that our plan was still in play.

"We've got to get to Italy," was the first thing he said once he knew it was me.

"Why?" I questioned, looking over at Nadia. The two of us stopped at a small convenience store in the middle of nowhere, and I knew I had to keep the call short because I used a traceable landline.

"My father," Vaughn answered.

"You reached him?" I questioned. Nadia wandered inside the store itself, searching for something to eat. I didn't have any money on me, but she assured me that she had enough for the time being.

"He sent a message last night. There's a meet in Italy," he explained.

"Where?" I asked.

"A hotel at the Plaza Nita," Vaughn replied. "I'm not sure exactly where that is, but that's all his message said."

"Okay. Nadia and I will meet you there," I stated. "You'll have to reach Sloane – find some way to talk him into more time."

"More time?" Vaughn questioned.

"Tomorrow's the last day. If we can't meet with your father right away, we'll need him to think you need more time to get the location," I answered.

"Right. He'll negotiate, especially since he doesn't have any way to prove that he still has you hostage," Vaughn stated.

"Exactly. I'll talk to Nadia; we'll meet you there tomorrow," I replied.

"All right." We both hung up, figuring that the shorter the call was, the better. I waited for a moment before following Nadia inside, taking a quick glance around to make sure there weren't any suspicious people hanging around.

Nadia was over by one of the sandwich cases, looking over everything rather absentmindedly. She was alert, however, and turned to look at me before I got anywhere near her. I smiled a little, a gesture she returned, and went to stand beside her.

"We need a way to Italy," I whispered. She nodded slightly, thinking for a moment.

"Okay. I have contacts that can get us there," she replied. She didn't ask where we were going or why we had to get to Europe all of a sudden. After all, we were in the dead center of a very insecure environment. "Do you want something?"

"Sure. Just… Whatever," I agreed, wandering off to get a couple of drinks. I met up with her at the counter, and she paid for everything. We went back outside, going several hundred feet away from the store before we started talking again.

"What's in Italy?" Nadia questioned.

"Vaughn's father," I replied. "He knows the location of the Rambaldi artifact. We're meeting with him and the others there. There's a hotel."

"All right. We'll eat and then go back to the store, I can use the phone there to get us a flight out of here and to Italy," Nadia said.

"Okay."

OOOOO

I let Nadia handle the logistics of getting us a flight, since we used all of her contacts. I caught myself wondering, more than once, whether or not I could actually trust her. It didn't seem likely, but considering that I didn't have many other options, I had to for now. Once we made it to Italy, I would feel safer. The more distance between myself and Sloane, the better.

Considering our proximity to the Covenant outpost where Sloane held me captive, I suggested aliases and different looks for both of us. Nadia agreed, even though we didn't have any supplies with us. However, they were usually easy to find.

After some debate, the two of us finally settled on a fairly basic ploy. Much like Will and I's little 'performance', Nadia and I decided that being related was the best way to go, especially since we really _were _sisters. And, I had to admit, we did look alike; certain facial features that both of us inherited from our mother. I negotiated a couple of cheap wigs out of another Argentine Intelligence operative that we met with to pick up our tickets. With those and some cheap clothes from a thrift store Nadia spotted on the way to the airport, we became almost unrecognizable.

"We look ridiculous," I stated upon stepping out of a bathroom stall at the thrift store, looking at my outfit and then over at Nadia's. She took the light red wig, leaving me with the blonde one, and pulled hers back into a ponytail. She wore a black tank top and a pair of jeans that were several sizes too large for her, and they touched the floor despite the heels on her boots.

I had a short blonde wig, tight jeans and a blue t-shirt, opting for flat shoes rather than the heels Nadia picked. Both of us wore more makeup than I personally owned, and she had over two-dozen plastic bracelets on her left arm.

"At least we look cute. Sort of," she replied with a smile, sending both of us into near hysterical laughter. Finally, we managed to pull ourselves together and headed for the airport as Julia and Kelsey Campbell, sisters on an impromptu trip to Italy because school had us bored and we needed a vacation.

I didn't know if it was that both of us were intelligence agents or because we were sisters, but I found it surprisingly easy to play off of Nadia, improvising as we went through the airport and managing to stay perfectly in character. Still, in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder whether or not trusting her was a good idea. Right after I learned that I had a sister, my father made some comment about how Nadia could not be trusted with Irina Derevko and Arvin Sloane as her parents. I wanted to believe that she didn't posses the same qualities that her parents did, but felt the need to prepare myself just in case she turned on me.

We made it to the plane without any trouble, getting a couple of odd looks from some people, and a cheesy grin and wolf-whistle from one of the janitors. Despite my uncertainty, I had to smile at Nadia, seeing that she found the situation just as amusing as I did.

"What do you think we'll find once we get to Italy?" Nadia questioned when the two of us sat in the small lounge area outside the gate. I looked over at her, seeing that her eyes were locked on some undefined point out the large window. "Do you think Rambaldi's artifact is there?" she asked, her voice quieter when she mentioned Rambaldi.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. She remained silent for a long moment, and then looked over at me. I could see an emotion in her eyes that I couldn't quite identify, but she looked almost… Pained.

"I don't think we'll find anything," she finally stated before going back to staring out the window.

OOOOO

Once we knew that the meet with my father was in Italy, Irina started contacting people, trying to arrange a flight there as soon as possible. Jack focused his attention on helping her, though I could tell that he also tried to come up with any alternatives to our plan. I thought once about telling him that there might be something better he could do with his time, but decided against it. I didn't want to start picking fights with him, figuring that we didn't need anymore arguing.

While the two of them worked on securing a flight for the three of us, I had to wait for another call from Sloane or Sark. Then I had to convince them I believed Sydney remained in their custody, and that we would need an extra day to get the location of Rambaldi's greatest power. I knew that it would be easier to negotiate with Sloane than with Sark, but still didn't look forward to talking to either one.

We were about to leave the warehouse and head to the plane when the cell phone went off again. Jack shot me a warning look, probably wanting to remind me that I needed to watch what I said and how I acted while talking to Sloane. Thankfully, he didn't say anything, and I could see Irina glaring at him, ready to shut him up if he tried.

"Yeah?" I answered the call.

"Much more pleasant this time, Mister Vaughn. Thank you," Sloane said.

"What did you do to Sydney?" I questioned, remembering that when I spoke with Sark, he made it sound like Sloane was torturing her at the time. Of course, I knew he was lying, but couldn't let Sloane in on that.

"We had a very nice conversation, Sydney and I," Sloane answered. "She seems to think very highly of you, though you have yet to impress me. Have you got the location?"

"We need more time," I replied.

"I'm sorry, but that wasn't part of the original deal," Sloane shot back without hesitation. "I gave you three days to find Rambaldi's greatest power, and if you can't do it in that time-"

"I will give you the location as soon as I have it," I interrupted. "There's a meet, I'll have the location then, but it's not until the day after tomorrow."

"Then I suggest you move up your timetable, because mine is not negotiable," Sloane snapped, the tone of his voice lowering as he spoke. "You will give me the location tomorrow, or I will kill Sydney."

"I'm just asking you for one day. And, frankly, there's nothing else I can do from this end," I replied, hearing the anger in my own voice as I spoke. "If you want the location so much, you'll give me one more day to get it to you." He paused for a long moment, and I pulled the phone away from my ear for a second to make sure it hadn't disconnected.

"All right," Sloane finally agreed. "I planned to allow you to speak with Sydney, but consider this the only lenience I will show you. You have one more day." Before I could respond, he hung up. I shook my head, tucking the small phone back into my pocket.

"Did it work?" Irina questioned. I nodded.

"I'm pretty sure he believes it," I replied. "He said he planned to let me talk to Syd, but I get this instead."

"Knowing full well that he has nothing to offer you," Jack threw in. Again, I nodded in agreement. "Well, despite my lingering doubt over this whole idea, you handled that well." I just rose my eyebrows a little, looking at Jack like he lost his mind. "Not saying I approve of the plan, just that I wasn't sure you could pull it off."

"Yeah, well… That was only the easy part," I replied, half a dozen different sarcastic comments coming into my head that I chose to ignore.

"We should call Weiss, make sure he has the team ready," Jack stated. I went over to the landline for the building, opting to use that instead of Irina's phone. I had no idea if Sloane put some kind of a tap on that phone, and it was dangerous enough that Sydney had to use that number to reach me. I doubted he actually had a tap, as he would know Sydney contacted us, but didn't want to risk it.

"Weiss," he answered.

"It's me," I replied. "Did you reach the agency? Tell them about Newman?"

"Yeah, Dixon took care of that," Weiss replied with a sigh.

"What?" I asked, hearing the unhappy tone in his voice.

"He met with a department head not far from here. Told him all about Newman and his partnership with Sloane, the whole thing. Asked for backup that could be dispatched within the next few days," he explained.

"And what happened? He turned it down?" I questioned.

"No, he was for it. But he said the earliest he could put something like that together was three days," Weiss answered.

"Three _days_? We don't have that much time."

"I know. It's the damn 'red tape'. Because there isn't a definite location, CIA can't be used to catch Sloane without the proper governments involved. I mean, from what Dixon said, the guy was sorry, but there wasn't a lot he could do to change it."

"Great. So it's just us, then."

"Looks like." I sighed, thinking for a moment.

"All right. I've got an idea."


	45. Chapter Forty Five

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **gils, Jackie, Eyghonb **and **Tine** for reviews of chapter 44! Sorry this took a little longer than anticipated - editing is a pain, and then I lost the edit copy, soI had to tear up the place looking for it this afternoon. Anyway, here's chapter 45, and I hope to have 46 for you by Friday evening or Saturday at the latest! Enjoy and please review!

OOOOO

Nadia didn't say anything else while the two of us waited to board the plane, and kept staring out the window during takeoff. I could tell that something was on her mind, but didn't know whether or not I should ask. Despite being sisters, we knew virtually nothing about each other, and I didn't think she would feel comfortable telling me why she seemed so worried about the Rambaldi artifact.

Both of us remained silent for a while, and I flipped through one of the magazines that I found in the seat pocket in front of me. Finally, I couldn't distract myself, and I felt the need to try to strike up a conversation.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly. Nadia looked over at me in question. "You seemed…"

"I'm all right," she replied before I could continue, smiling softly. "I was just thinking about my father." I nodded a little. "I know he'll be there when we find the artifact, and… I don't want to see something happen to him. I know he probably deserves it, but…"

"He's still your father," I finished for her. She nodded a little. "I understand that. Before I knew that our mother was KGB, I thought my father betrayed his country. That he was responsible for some truly horrible things. But, I didn't want to turn him in. I didn't want to see him hurt."

"When I started working with my father – Sloane – to find the sphere, he almost convinced me that we did the right thing," Nadia continued. "Going with him to find it, working with him and Sark… That was the first time I felt like I had any family at all."

"Didn't Sark try to kill you in Japan?" I questioned, wondering how she found it so easy to work with him when he threatened her life. She nodded a little.

"That was to find the sphere. Once Sloane told him that we knew where it was, he apologized. He tried to make me believe that it wasn't his idea to use so much of the elixir," Nadia explained.

"Do you believe that?" I questioned. She sighed, not responding right away.

"I'm not sure," she finally answered. "I wanted to find the sphere. The things my father said made me curious. I wanted to know why he was so interested in the sphere. What it might be, if it had any value at all after all these years.

"We found the sphere, and started analysis on it when our mother came to me," she continued. "She explained her plan – a plan that would leave the sphere in the hands of the right people. She told me that Sloane shouldn't have it, that he couldn't be allowed to access it."

"But you still had to convince him that you were on his side," I replied. She nodded again.

"That's the reason I shot you in Russia," she stated. "Because I knew there was no other way to convince Sark and my father that I remained loyal to them. That I believed what my father said, and that the Rambaldi compound worked."

"Because I was the only one that knew the code," I finished with a sigh, looking away for a moment. "All of that just to get a six-digit number to open a five-hundred year old device."

"Was it really that bad?" Nadia asked quietly, nothing spiteful or sarcastic in her voice. I glanced back at her.

"It could have been a lot worse," I replied, choosing not to explain the whole mess of my missing two years to her. I still had to sort through a lot of it, and wasn't prepared to start sharing details with her.

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

"I gave my father the code. Sloane didn't try and stop me from opening the sphere, even when you stepped out of the way," I replied, pausing for a moment. "Why did you let me do it?"

"Because our mother told me to," she answered, shrugging a little as if it were that simple. "She said that Sloane misread something, that I couldn't access the sphere either. That it had to be you.

"My father thought that Rambaldi could give the same message to either of us. I believe I could have opened the device, but I think the message would have been different," Nadia continued. "I think what we did was right. Letting you open the sphere."

"I guess we'll know soon enough." Nadia nodded, looking slightly concerned again. "Do you know what this artifact is? Is that why you're so worried about finding it?"

"All I know is what I saw in those visions. From the elixir," Nadia replied, shaking her head in answer to my question. "I know there is another artifact. I know it's very powerful, and… With my father there, I know it's dangerous."

"Dangerous how?" I questioned, trying to figure out what she might know, if anything at all. I still felt reluctant to believe in all of this Rambaldi stuff, but was a lot more convinced now that I saw the man with my own eyes.

"I'm not sure," Nadia answered. "But, in a way, I hope we don't find anything."

"You're worried that Sloane might get his hands on the greatest power."

"Yes," she replied, looking at me seriously. "And if that happens, people are going to be hurt." She paused for a moment, and then looked back at the window. "A _lot_ of people."

OOOOO

After a particularly annoying layover in Chicago, Nadia and I flew into Italy. The only flight we could get left us in Milan, and I called Vaughn once we landed to find out the exact location of the Plaza Nita where this meet would take place. Apparently, my father decided it would be a good idea to meet somewhere away from the hotel, close to it by not at the hotel itself, just to re-group and make sure the location was safe.

We stopped in a bathroom at the airport. I didn't bother to change but I wanted all of the makeup off my face. Figuring that we were reasonably safe here, I also discarded the very itchy wig in the nearest trashcan, seeing that Nadia opted to do the same, going one step further and changing her uncomfortable boots for a pair of flat shoes that left her stepping on the cuffs of her very long jeans.

Nadia didn't speak Italian, which left me to find a taxi that would take us to the plaza. Vaughn told us that he and my parents were at a small café about three stores down from the Plaza Nita hotel where Vaughn's father waited. Because of the time difference, and the drive, it was just after one when we arrived. So, we had a couple of hours before the actual meeting, which would give us the time we needed to check the hotel out.

I paid the cab driver and thanked him in Italian, using currency Nadia got from her agency. I would remember to personally thank Argentine Intelligence for sending us all the way here on such short notice, especially without any kind of explanation as to what was so important in Italy.

I led the way into the café, seeing my parents and Vaughn almost immediately. It took a moment before they noticed us, and Vaughn immediately came over and pulled me into his arms. I waited for him to move away first, finally realizing how terrifying it must have felt for him for Sloane to call and threaten my life.

"Are you all right?" he finally asked, stepping back slightly but keeping his hands on my arms. I smiled, just as glad to see him as he was to see me, nodding.

"I'm okay," I answered.

"Sloane didn't hurt you?" he questioned again.

"No. He didn't," I replied, shaking my head. I figured I could wait to show him the slight bruise on my face from where Sloane hit me. Right now, I was still very aware of my parents being in the room, and nervous about what would happen when we met with Vaughn's father.

Before I could turn my attention to my parents, however, Vaughn closed the distance between us again and kissed me. For a moment, I allowed myself to forget about everything else, letting my thoughts get lost in him. Finally, he stepped away with a gentle smile, still holding my hand as we went over to where my mother and father stood.

"Sydney, thank goodness you're all right," my father said to me, looking relieved in a very dry and un-emotional way that only Jack Bristow could manage. I smiled a little at him, seeing the same relief – only more evident – on my mother's face. "Nadia, thank you."

"What are sisters for?" Nadia asked, smiling over at me. I returned the smile honestly, just at her mention of the two of us as sisters. Despite the fact that I didn't really know anything about her, I still felt a certain connection to her, and was glad that she acknowledged it.

"Now that we're all here, we should look over the hotel," my father stated, returning his attention to the business at hand.

"Every building on this block has an exit in the back, down a fire escape. We can access that from the hotel if something happens and make it to the alley," my mother filled in.

"What about the hotel itself? Do we know where it is?" I asked.

"Right there," Vaughn replied, nodding up the street to a much larger building. A red awning hung over the front door, and I could see the name of the hotel scrawled in fancy white lettering.

"Most of the rooms are shielded from the street, so we're fairly sure it will be one of those," my father continued. "However, there are a couple of weak points to watch out for, particularly the front lobby."

I looked out the window of the small café, seeing the entire lobby of the hotel through a large glass pane right on the street level. It gave it a much more open and inviting look, but the window was large enough to drive a small car through.

"That's definitely a risk," I replied, shaking my head a little as I watched people moving through the lobby of the hotel. "Okay, so we won't be spending much time in the lobby."

"No," my father agreed. "At this point, I think our best option might be to send one person in, at least for now. If we need more information we can all find a way into the building. Or, better yet, relocate to a safer area."

"You should go," my mother said, looking over at Vaughn. He glanced at her, but didn't seem at all surprised by her suggestion. "Any of us, they might be suspicious of."

"All right," Vaughn agreed quietly. "I'll go."

OOOOO

After assuring Sydney that the two of us would have the chance to talk later, I left the café and went up the street to the hotel. I greeted the doorman in Italian, a friendly smile on my face despite the fact that my heart pounded in my chest. I had no idea what to expect, and that made me nervous.

I stepped into the lobby of the hotel, knowing that the others could see me from the café down the street, but taking very little comfort in that fact. I had no idea how I would find my father. After all, I hadn't seen him in twenty-some years, and couldn't exactly pick him out of the crowd.

I glanced down at my watch. It was just three PM, local time of course. I took a deep breath, letting it out in a nervous sigh and looking around the room. I thought of going to the front desk and just asking for him by name, but decided against it. He probably used an alias to check into the hotel, and there was no chance I would know that name.

"Don't turn around," an accented voice said behind me, in English this time. I froze, keeping my gaze locked on a painting that hung on the other side of the room in order to avoid the urge to look over my shoulder. "You are here to see William Vaughn, yes?"

"Yeah," I replied quietly, swallowing thickly and trying anything I could think of to slow my heart rate and breathing.

"Wait five minutes after I leave to make sure no one is watching you. Then, take the key I will leave on the table beside the brochure stand. Go to room 518. You will find him there," the man behind me continued. I just nodded a little, and felt him brush past me as he headed over to the brochure stand. I could see him out of the corner of my eye. He was short, probably five-five if that, wearing a dark brown business suit. A hat and a pair of dark glasses covered most of his face, and he wore a pair of black leather gloves.

I watched him in my peripheral vision as he set a key down on the table and quickly exited the hotel. I waited a moment, moving to the far side of the lobby and pretending to look at some of the décor in the hotel. Judging by the way he found me and instructed me to wait, I had a feeling someone remained in the lobby to watch me, and make sure I listened to what he said.

Once I was sure five minutes passed, I went over to the brochure stand. I saw one of the clerks at the desk nod in greeting and smile at me, smiling back and turning my attention to the flyers and brochures. The table with the key sitting on it was just to my left, and I casually reached out and picked it up, making it look like I was interested in some of the material in front of me.

I slid the cardkey into my pocket, browsing for a moment longer before I turned and made my way to the elevator. I thought about taking the stairs, but decided against it when I realized there were more people in the elevator. If there was a chance that someone had an eye on this meeting, I was safer surrounded by civilians than off on my own.

I went to the fifth floor of the building, noting once I got there that room 518 was on the backside of the hotel. I felt relieved at that, knowing that this side of the building offered more protection than the front, as Jack noticed. Nevertheless, I kept my eyes open for anything out of place as I made my way through the small corridors, all the way to the back corner of the hallway. Room 518 stood directly in front of me.

I stopped for a moment, just staring at the door. There was a chance that this was all some kind of elaborate scheme, or worse, a trap. But, there was also a very good chance that on the other side of this door, I would find my father. I pulled the key out of my pocket, risking one last glance over my shoulder before unlocking the door.

The small green light on the electronic key lock flashed, and I heard the door unlock. I clenched my jaw, barely realizing that I held my breath as I pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

It was a larger room than I expected, and had a small office-type area that was sectioned off from the bedroom. I saw a small conference table and a little desk against the far wall, computer equipment strewn over both surfaces. In addition to the wires and monitors, I saw several pieces of aged parchment paper, recognizing the special code Rambaldi wrote in scrawled over most of the documents.

Slowly, I turned my attention from the desk and the conference table, looking up and into the bedroom. It didn't look like anyone was in that part of the room either, but I could only see the foot of the bed from my position in the second room. I took a moment to steady myself, and then stepped into the bedroom.

Once I stepped into the room, my eyes fell on a figure seated on the bed. I saw an older man, legs crossed Indian-style, graying hair long and pulled back into a slightly unruly ponytail. He had a thick book of some kind sitting in front of him, worn hands flipping carefully through the old pages.

He stopped reading when he heard me step into the room, looking up immediately. I froze when I saw his eyes – the same green eyes I saw every time I looked into the mirror. He watched me for a moment, sighing and leaning back slightly from his work. It struck me that he didn't seem very surprised to see me there. When he spoke, his voice was slightly older and worn like the rest of him, but still full of that thick vitality I remembered.

_My father._

"Hello Michael."


	46. Chapter Forty Six

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **ArodLoverus2001, Eyghon, Jackie, Gils, **and **tine **for revewing chapter 45! Again, I am a little later than I intended due to editing, but here's the next chapter. I am working on something for chapter 47 that should be up on Wednesday. Until then, enjoy this one and please review!

…**Of All Things  
**EPISODE 4.12

I didn't say anything in reply; just stared at my father for what seemed like hours. Finally, I regained some sense of the fact that I was in mid-step when he looked up at me, and continued the rest of the way into the room. He watched me intently, eyes narrowed, a slightly sad smile on his face as I took a moment to look him over again.

"I know you have questions," he continued. I looked away at the sound of his voice, still grappling with how familiar it sounded. I noticed some differences, of course, and it was the same way with his physical appearance. It was almost like I could handle looking at him, but hearing that voice – a voice I spent most of my childhood and all of my adolescence just wanting to hear again, just _once_ – threw me. "I wish you would say something."

"Like _what_?" I questioned, my voice barely above a whisper. I risked a glance back at his face, only able to hold eye contact for a moment before having to look away again, shaking my head in disbelief. I felt like I was in shock. I felt like I did when I opened the door to that room of the safe house in Hong Kong and saw Sydney.

"This must be difficult for you to understand," he tried again.

"Which part? You being here now, or the part where you _died_ when I was eight years old?" I shot back, some of that anger coming back to me all of a sudden. I fought to control it, but could already tell that I fought a losing battle.

"All of it," he replied with a smile. I leaned back against the dresser on the side of the room opposite the bed, knowing that if I continued to stand there I stood a good chance of falling over. "Looking at you… I can still see that little boy from so long ago."

"Don't," I stated, shaking my head. "Don't say that – you know nothing about me or my life now."

"I know you're an operations officer with the CIA," my father replied. I glanced up at him, seeing that the smile had left his face but he still kept his eyes locked on me. "That you wanted to work for the agency after you learned I did."

"Maman… Does she know about any of this?" I questioned, wondering if my mother knew that he was alive. My father sighed deeply, shaking his head and looking away for the first time.

"No, she doesn't," he answered. "Of all the things I've done, leaving you and your mother was the most difficult for me." He looked back up at me, and I could see the pain in his eyes. I knew he hadn't wanted any of this to happen; that – just like the rest of us – he got caught up in something bigger than him.

I couldn't say anything more for a moment. On one level, I couldn't think of what I could possibly say. On another, there were millions of thoughts running through my head, things I wanted to say or ask him, and I couldn't sort them out enough to bring anything to the surface.

"I am truly sorry that this had to happen. That we had to meet again like this, after so many years," he finally stated, uncrossing his legs and stretching them out, eyes narrowing as he did so. I had no idea how long he sat there, but it looked like his legs had gotten somewhat stiff.

"It was because of Rambaldi," I stated, finally able to express at least one of the thoughts racing through my mind. "You disappeared because of him."

"Yes," my father agreed with a nod. "I needed a way to investigate his work, his prophecies, without the interference of the agency."

"And faking your own death seemed like the best way to go?" I questioned, my question sounding harsher than I intended.

"There was another group forming inside the CIA at the time. Just leaving the agency wouldn't stop them from following my pursuit. I thought over the options for a long time, longer than I should have. Eventually, I came to realize that this was the only way to truly keep the information I wanted safe," he said after a moment. "I tried to examine every other possible option. There was nothing else I could do."

I just nodded, taking in everything he said but not saying anything in reply. What was there to say? I could get even angrier with him, tell him I hated his choices and the fact that he practically abandoned my mother and I, but he already knew all of that. Nothing I said would change it anyway, so there was no point in it.

"I know you're here because you need the location of Rambaldi's greatest power," he finally continued, seeing that I couldn't figure out what to say. "When Irina contacted me, I knew this would bring us to the end of all of this."

"You didn't seem surprised," I suddenly stated. He looked up at me, confused for a moment. "When you saw that it was me."

"No, I wasn't," he answered. "I've had my share of contacts, and I knew you had something to do with the continuing investigation into Rambaldi. I figured it was only natural that, once you knew I was alive, you would want to be here yourself."

"You've contacted someone in Los Angeles?" I questioned. "Who?"

"Thomas Brill," my father replied. I shook my head, not really surprised at his reply. "You've met with him a few times, I understand."

"He's the one that told me you were a Follower of Rambaldi," I replied. "He practically orchestrated this whole thing, didn't he?"

"There were others involved, but yes," my father replied. "He played a certain part, just like everyone else."

"What else did he tell you about me?" I questioned, suddenly curious what he might know already. In a way, it made me uncomfortable, thinking that he knew personal things about me. Even though this was my father, I still felt like I was face-to-face with a perfect stranger.

"The last time I spoke with him, he was concerned about something," he began, shaking his head a little and looking off to the side of the room. "Said there was a fire, that he wanted to make sure nothing happened to you before we had the chance to meet." I swallowed thickly, knowing he wanted an explanation but not prepared to give it to him. "It's always been understood between us that I don't want details – that I didn't want to intrude on your life when I finally saw you again. Beyond what I've already told you, I know virtually nothing."

I just nodded, but made no move to elaborate further. Part of me just wanted to explain everything, to tell him what I went through in the last three years especially, but everything before that as well. Another part of me, the part that eventually won out, told me to just keep my mouth shut.

"Did you start that fire?" he finally asked, looking over at me again in question. I could tell he was curious, and that he wanted to know why Brill seemed so concerned with my well-being.

"Yeah, at my own house," I snapped, suddenly angry and sarcastic again. It occurred to me that this would have been a much more pleasant meeting if I had a little more control over my own emotions. While I was sure Lauren's 'conditioning' played a part in that, I knew that a good deal of it was that I stood in a room with a man I thought was dead for twenty-seven years, and simply didn't know _what _to think.

"I suppose there was some reason for that?" he asked. I could hear the slight disapproving tone in his voice – a tone I heard after breaking windows or ruining my mother's garden.

"My wife told me to," I answered honestly, trying to keep the sarcasm from my voice this time, and having a lot more success than before. "I trashed the place and didn't feel like cleaning up the mess." My father looked taken aback at this, and I could see his eyes go to my hands, looking for a wedding ring that he somehow missed. "She's dead now."

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment.

"Don't be, I'm the one that killed her," I replied, having to look away from him this time as I spoke. I wasn't sure why I simply admitted to all of this. I figured that, in a way, I wanted to see how far I could push him before he lost that calm demeanor he exhibited ever since I walked in the door. "It's okay, though," I explained at his shocked silence, "she was a spy for a terrorist organization."

Now it was my father's turn to be silent. I stared at the far wall for a long moment, finally turning my attention back to his face. He looked like he was studying me, maybe trying to gauge whether everything I just told him was true. I just shrugged slightly, trying to brush it off. I knew I hadn't succeeded, but didn't really care.

"Anything else you want to know, or can we get back to why I'm here?" I finally questioned, looking him in the eye. He sighed sadly, leaning back against the tall headboard of the bed.

"I'll tell you where the greatest power is, but I have one condition," he finally replied, seeing that I was in no mood to continue sharing personal details. "I want to come along when you find it."

OOOOO

Vaughn told me that we could talk more after the meet, and went off to the hotel to try and find his father. I watched him from one of the windows of the café as he moved through the lobby, and then disappeared into one of the elevators. I figured someone approached him in the lobby, but didn't see anyone specific. Once he was out of sight, I went back to where my parents and Nadia waited, deeper inside the café. Nadia and our mother talked off in the corner, and my father sat at one of the tables, absently flipping through a city guide he picked up somewhere along the way. A small pocket translator sat in front of him – a bug-killer, obviously, since I knew he was fluent in Italian as well and didn't need the small device.

I went to where my father sat, pulling up a chair across from him. He glanced up at me as I sat down, but didn't say anything before going back to the guidebook. I kept my gaze locked on him, and eventually he looked up at me again and set the book aside.

"Did the meet go as planned?" he questioned.

"Looks like it," I replied. I let the thought hang for a moment, and then decided now was a good opportunity to talk to him about a few things. "Dad… I need to ask you something."

"Of course," he replied, looking at least a little interested in what I might want to ask him.

"Project Prodigy," I stated. He sighed at that, looking away. "I need to know everything. What it is, why you started it, why you tried so hard to keep it away from me. I know what Newman and the other Directors told me was a lie, to make me stop investigating it, and I know it has something to do with Rambaldi. What is it?"

"Sydney, you looked over those documents yourself. What you inferred and what Newman explained were both parts of the truth," he replied, shrugging a little. "I pitched it as an extremist version of Project Christmas. I began the training when you were very young, so young that you wouldn't remember. I didn't want you to become a victim of the kind of monsters I saw and dealt with on a daily basis.

"When your mother… Revealed her true alliances to me, I made modifications to the project," he continued, shaking his head a little. "In the beginning, I did entertain thoughts of allowing you to track her down. Of letting you eliminate her." He looked up at me seriously. "As you got older, I knew that such a thing was out of the question. It wasn't in your character, despite the fact that that kind of emotional detachment seems evident in your mother and me. You couldn't kill without remorse. When I saw that, I put a stop to that element of the project.

"My intention, as I've said, was to bring you into the agency after you finished college and graduate school," he explained, shaking his head sadly. "Unfortunately, Sloane reached you before I had the chance. He brought you in to SD-6. You know the story from there."

I remained silent for a moment, simply watching him. There was no evidence of a physical tell on him at all, but I knew he lied. The story remained consistent, of course, but there were some facts that didn't fit with his explanation. I nodded a little, and he returned his attention to the book.

"How about now you give me the _real _explanation," I stated. He looked up at me, eyebrows risen in question.

"Sydney, there's nothing more I can offer you," he replied flatly.

"Why is the project referenced as SAB-47?" I questioned. "Forty-seven being the number Rambaldi used for everything important he _ever_ did. Why is the start date marked as the day I was born? Dad, you couldn't possibly have started any kind of training or programming the day I was _born_." He sighed, but didn't say anything. "I think you knew about Rambaldi the whole time. I think you knew about the prophecy, even before I was born. Mom's name was on the box, the word 'peace' that came from Il Dire was a derivative of that same name. There's more to this than you're telling me, and I have a right to know what it is."

He stared down at the book sitting on the corner of the table for a long moment, and then nodded sadly. I sat back a little in my chair, keeping my eyes locked intently on him, wanting him to know that I wouldn't settle for some mediocre explanation.

"I didn't know about Rambaldi or the prophecy in his manuscript before you were born," he began. "However, there were people in the agency, like Director Newman, that did. The founders of The Trust, the same people that attempted to blackmail Sloane through his pardon agreement. Enemies of Rambaldi and his followers, inside the CIA, getting funding from the black budget and creating fanatics like some of those you met through the DSR.

"Newman came to me, shortly before your birth," he continued. "He had a pitch, something like Project Christmas, but geared more towards Rambaldi specifically. He said someone else in the agency recommended me, said that I might be interested in participating. He didn't give me any specific details about the project, other than the name Prodigy and that it would be used for specialized training of an individual to become an operative somewhere down the line.

"At first, I didn't agree. I told him that my child would not be subjected to agency lab-rat experiments, and that he should never have come to me in the first place. At that, he offered me more ideas. Missions, promotions, anything he could to try and pique my interest. What finally sold me was the threat that, if I turned him down, he would see to it that I was re-assigned out of the country and would never see you or your mother again," he stated.

"You believed him?" I questioned.

"Yes," my father replied without hesitation. "I believed that he would do such a thing. Now, I know it was a bluff. He wouldn't have done it, but I didn't know that then. So, I agreed. We went over the guidelines of the project, and he assured me that anything I wanted to change would be changed to make it as comfortable as possible."

"Your name is on the documents, though. _You're_ listed as the Senior Project Manager," I stated.

"You're absolutely right. I am, now," he replied. I nodded a little, understanding. "Newman began the project the day you were born. He spoke with the attendants at the hospital; he performed the same tests on you that the DSR did when the Page 47 prophecy came to light. He wanted to know if you were really the one Rambaldi spoke of.

"For several years, nothing ever came of it," he said with a shrug. "Newman got involved in other projects, and it seemed he forgot this one entirely. Like it wasn't important after all. Eventually, it even slipped my mind. I never asked him about it, and he never mentioned it."

"Until mom disappeared," I filled in. He nodded.

"When your mother faked her death and retuned to Russian Intelligence, though I didn't know she was alive at the time, Newman started talking about the project again. He said he wanted to bring you in to a CIA lab, to conduct tests on you, to put you in intensive, deep-immersion training.

"Having just lost my wife, I told him he would do no such thing. I took the project to Director Devlin, I showed him everything Newman gave me, and told him that I wanted to either discontinue the project or assume direction. Newman fought to keep the project active, to keep it from being shut down entirely, and we reached a compromise. The project would remain open, but I would have full control, keeping him and some of the others on as consult.

"Despite the programming I subjected you to with Project Christmas, I didn't incorporate anything else into Prodigy. All of the information about your mother, her whereabouts, the references of the two of you and your connections to Rambaldi… All of that was there before I took control. Newman added all of that information when the project began; none of it had any relevance until the CIA uncovered the prophecy.

"As you can imagine, once the DSR got their hands on you, Newman became interested again. I've no doubt that there was some form of communication between him and Sloane over the course of your recruitment into SD-6. From what I can see, the two of them worked together since before Sloane joined the Alliance. Now, I don't know if Sloane knew of your involvement in the Rambaldi puzzle when he recruited you, but I would have to think so. I don't know why else he would go around me and bring you into this against my will," he explained.

"So all of this was just an elaborate way to keep tabs on me? So that, when the time came, Newman or Sloane or whoever could use me to get to Rambaldi?" I questioned, confused. _Seems like a lot of work for something they could have done a lot easier_, I thought, but kept that to myself.

"In a way, yes," my father replied. "A way to keep track of you, to control you. To train you to be the perfect agent, to listen to orders, to be stronger and better than everyone else, and keep you secured under their thumbs until they found what it was they wanted, and used you to get it."

"But… After Sloane killed Danny… You came to me. You told me what SD-6 really was, you got me out," I stated, looking at him in surprise. He nodded a little.

"Yes," he answered. "I took Prodigy away from Newman after your mother disappeared because I wanted to keep you out of his grasp. Sloane pulled you back in, and I needed the right opportunity to get you out."

"You tried to save him, though. The ticket to Singapore-"

"I didn't want you to live the life I did," he interrupted. "I didn't want to tell you that SD-6 was a branch of the Alliance, I didn't want to drag you into becoming a double agent. My intention in sending Danny to Singapore was to pull _both _of you out of this, before it got worse. To remove you from this life, completely."

"You just did it to protect me," I realized, finally looking away and shaking my head a little. "Telling me the truth about Sloane, it was to keep me from being a pawn in his game."

"Everything I've done since you were born… Sydney, I do what I do to protect you. I know it's hard to see it sometimes, but that's the only reason I've stayed in this as long as I have. To try and keep you from falling back into their hands," he stated, and I could hear the intensity in his voice. I sighed, leaning back into the chair and taking a moment to absorb his words.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me?" I questioned, looking up at him in question. His gaze softened, showing more emotion than anyone usually saw him express. He looked sad, almost hurt at my question.

"I tried to keep it from you… Because I didn't want you to end up despising me in the end. Despite what I did to you, despite everything that happened," he said with a sigh. "I didn't want you to think less of me for agreeing with Newman in the beginning."

"Dad… You're one of the strongest people I know," I replied, reaching across the table and putting my hand over his. He looked up at me in surprise, appearing strangely vulnerable all of a sudden. "No matter what happens, you're still my father."

"Sometimes I wonder how true that is," he said with a sad smile. I smiled outright now, wanting to reassure him that I didn't think any of that.

"More than you think."


	47. Chapter Forty Seven

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **Jackie, Mizzle fo' Rizzle, Gils, ArodLoverus2001, tine, Agent Phoenix, **and **twinmuse **for reviewing chapter 46, and for giving me a new record for reviews on a single chapter! It was six, now it is seven! Yay! Anyway, here's Chapter 47, I tried to make this one a little longer than some of the previous chapters. The song I used is "Awake" by Assemblage 23, and I tried to incorporate a couple of things into this chapter, as well as give a little bit of foreshadowing to what might happen next. Anyway, thank you so, so much for the wonderful reviews, and I hope everyone enjoys the new chapter!

OOOOO

My father told me that we would find Rambaldi's greatest power inside an old temple in Egypt; somewhere that only a few people even knew existed. I told him that Jack and Irina wanted to speak with him, and he said he would come to the café once he found a safe way there. I didn't know why he needed to be so secretive, and I didn't bother to ask.

I went back to the café, explaining to Irina that my father was on his way. She and Nadia were obviously in the middle of some conversation, and I could see Sydney with her father, probably trying to make peace after the events of the last several days. I told Irina absently that I wanted to find somewhere quiet to think, and wandered off into one of the side-rooms of the café. I expected it to be busier for some reason, but there weren't many people there at all. The room I ended up in was a small meeting room area, with only four tables and a large wall sectioning it off from the rest of the establishment. A waiter stopped in once to see if I needed anything, and disappeared shortly thereafter.

For a long moment, I just stared at nothing. I knew I was in shock, to a certain degree, after walking into that hotel room and seeing my father for the first time since I was eight years old. Hearing Jack and Irina say that he was alive was one thing. Seeing him, having a conversation with him, was something _entirely_ different.

I didn't know why I told him about Lauren, or why I said the things I did. As much as I wanted to chalk it up to some kind of conditioning, I couldn't do it. I knew there was more to it than that, and while I had a feeling I knew what that was, I didn't want to admit it, even to myself.

I said it like it didn't bother me because it still bothered me.

_I am lost  
__The footprints that I left have disappeared  
__For now, I am driving blind  
__Accelerate  
__Without a destination to welcome me  
__This road is just an endless loop_

"Hey." I looked up, seeing Sydney standing in the doorway. She smiled a little at me, stepping into the room and sitting down across from me at one of the small café tables. I leaned back against the wall, the chair tilted slightly but balanced enough that it didn't fall over.

"Hey," I replied quietly, happy to see her despite the unsettling thoughts that circulated through my mind.

"My mother… She said you got back a few minutes ago," she stated, her voice quiet as well, though still considerably louder than mine. I nodded a little, but didn't say anything. "Are you okay?"

"You want the short answer or the long and complicated version?" I joked with a smile, trying to lighten the mood and regain some kind of focus. Sydney smiled back, but only for a moment.

"You looked like you were thinking," she replied. I nodded in agreement.

"I was," I answered simply, a part of me wanting to leave it at that.

"Anything in particular?" she questioned, smiling a little again. I could tell that she was trying to figure out if I was just joking around, or if I really tried to avoid her question. Sadly, I wasn't joking. I sighed deeply.

"About Lauren," I finally replied. The smile was gone instantly, and for a second I wanted to smile and tell her I was kidding, that I was just tired and ask her what she and her father talked about while I was gone. Change the subject.

_Every time I close my eyes  
The noise inside me amplifies  
I can't escape  
I relive every moment of the day  
And every misstep I have made  
Finds a way it can invade  
My every thought  
And this is why I find myself awake _

"What about her?" Sydney asked after a moment.

"Just…" I smiled a little. "I realized the reason I act like it doesn't bother me is because it _does_ bother me." Sydney didn't reply, but nodded a little in understanding. "Jack told me to kill her, that it would bring me closure, but…"

"It didn't?" she questioned.

"Kind of," I answered. "It's complicated."

"Because of the conditioning?"

"That's part of it." I sighed, shaking my head a little and trying to find the right words for what I wanted to say, tilting the chair forward and resting my arms on the table. "I don't think I did what I did for the right reasons."

"Vaughn, she could have killed us both," Sydney quickly countered, shaking her head. "You didn't have a choice."

"I know, and as much as I would like to rationalize it down to that, I didn't have to shoot her six times to keep her from hurting me, or _you_," I replied, my remark silencing Sydney immediately. "I didn't have to _kill _her in order to _stop _her."

"Then why did you?"

"Revenge," I answered simply. "Hatred. I hated her for what she did to me, what happened to us because of it." I paused, unable to hold eye contact with Sydney any longer. "I hated that I let her get away with it. I let her use me, and I killed her because I didn't want to admit to it. Olivia called me on it, and I killed her too."

_Directionless  
The letters on the signs have long since faded  
The sky conspires to swallow me  
Paid the price  
For burning all the maps to warm myself  
I threw their ashes to the wind _

For a moment, neither one of us said anything. I knew that the conditioning played a certain part in what I did to Lauren and her mother, but it was still _me_ in the end. I still made a choice – an influenced choice, but a choice nonetheless – to kill each one of them. Because Sydney was there, and because Lauren had a weapon on her, her death could still be ruled as self-defense, despite the obvious use of more force than I needed. And, because of the conditioning, I doubted that anyone would hold me responsible for Olivia's murder, as that could be rationalized as well. She was a threat. It wasn't self-defense in the same sense, but it could still be argued that it was insurance against future events.

But all of that didn't change what I did.

"You were right," I told Sydney, looking back at her. "You can't rationalize murdering people."

"That's not what happened," she protested.

"Yeah it is," I replied just as quickly. I could see that she wanted to argue, stopping before she said anything more. "Hell, I spent half an hour standing on the dock, just trying to find a rational way to explain shooting Olivia Reed in the head." Sydney tried to hide it, but I could see that she flinched at my words, or perhaps the tone of my voice. I shook my head a little, leaning the chair back against the wall again.

_Every time I close my eyes  
The noise inside me amplifies  
I can't escape  
I relive every moment of the day  
And every misstep I have made  
Finds a way it can invade  
My every thought  
And this is why I find myself awake _

"Even if you're right, if there _isn't_ a way to rationalize this, to make sense out of it… You can't just blame yourself for the whole thing. You didn't_ ask _for any of this to happen," Sydney stated. I nodded a little, but kept my eyes locked on the wall to my left rather than looking over at her.

"I know," I replied after a long moment, sighing and looking back at her. "Still, I know I have to take some of the blame for it."

"Maybe," Sydney allowed. "Even if you do, it doesn't mean anything. It doesn't make you less of a person, or one of the bad guys."

"Killing someone because they shot at you is different than doing it in cold blood, because they pissed you off," I replied shortly.

_Walk away  
__Time to leave the realm of the familiar  
__To find a place where sleep can come  
__Hesitate  
__For one last time I shout into the sky  
__To wake the ones I'll leave behind_

"After Taipei, when you got sick," she started. "I handed Sloane over to Sark, who said he would give me the antidote for that virus if I let him kill Sloane. It wasn't with my own hands, but I felt prepared to let Sloane die. To hand him over and allow Sark to kill him, no questions."

"Yeah, but that's Sloane. I mean, the guy killed Danny; he tried to kill Will. He's _evil_," I stated.

"And Olivia wasn't?" she countered. I stopped, realizing where she was going with all of this. "Maybe it was for the wrong reasons, maybe it wasn't self-defense. Maybe you _are_ to blame for her death, but it doesn't change the fact that she was one of the bad guys. If you let her escape the Rotunda and let her go, who knows what could have happened."

"You're the one that told me I couldn't rationalize what I did," I stated.

"I know," she replied, nodding. "Because I was scared. Weiss told me what happened and I was afraid of losing you to this. To whatever Lauren did to you, to the pain and the torment of the last three years. I didn't want to agree with you because I thought if I did, you might not come back."

_Every time I close my eyes  
__The noise inside me amplifies  
__I can't escape  
__I relive every moment of the day  
__And every misstep I have made  
__Finds a way it can invade  
__My every thought  
__And this is why I find myself awake_

I nodded a little, taking a moment to think her words over. Of course, I knew she was right. I shut down when I killed Olivia. I let the conditioning take over, and needed something to get me thinking, something to pull me back from that place, before I couldn't _get_ back.

"You're probably right," I admitted. "I might not have come back." I heard her sigh, sadly, at my acceptance of that statement. "I guess now I just have to figure out whether or not I can live with what happened."

"Do you think you can?" she questioned carefully. I could tell she was trying to help me sort through all of this without pushing me any further away than I already went. I thought over her question for a long moment, finally looking up at her and smiling a little.

"If you help me?" I asked. "Yeah. I think I can."

OOOOO

After talking to Vaughn for a while, mostly going over what happened and what we would need to do once we found Rambaldi's greatest power, the two of us returned to the main room of the café. Nadia greeted both of us near the entryway to the room. I saw my parents over by one of the windows, standing and talking to a man that could only be William Vaughn. He was a little over six feet tall, his hair graying slightly and about shoulder-length, pulled back into a ponytail. The three of them seemed like old friends; talking and smiling about the whole situation like it was trivial.

Nadia followed Vaughn and I into the room, and the conversation stopped when the three of us approached. My father stepped aside slightly to give everyone room to stand. I looked over at Vaughn's father, who smiled a little at my parents and then nodded in greeting to Vaughn, Nadia and me.

"Sydney, Nadia. Meet Bill Vaughn," my father introduced, trying to avoid any uncomfortable silence that might arise. "He'll be traveling with us to find the Rambaldi artifact."

"Where are we going?" Nadia questioned.

"We'll find the artifact in the center of an ancient Egyptian temple," Bill replied, glancing over at Nadia as he spoke. I remembered that, until recently, everyone thought that he died rescuing Nadia from one of my mother's testing facilities. I didn't know how much of that story was true, or if Nadia remembered anything. I knew there was some back-story there, however. "According to stories and legend, one of Rambaldi's most trusted disciples located the artifact shortly before his disappearance."

"You knew he was still alive?" I questioned, slightly surprised. Bill looked over at me, nodding.

"Yes," he replied.

"You said this disciple 'located' the artifact," my father started. Obviously, they saved all of the important information until everyone was together.

"Yes, he did," Bill agreed. "As I'm sure most of you know, Rambaldi's greatest power was the source of all of his knowledge and abilities. This artifact was not created like the others, but existed even before Rambaldi was born. Despite his trust and belief in that power, one of his disciples believed that his ability might be rooted to a specific object."

"And he found it in Egypt," Nadia concluded.

"After years of searching, yes. He did," Bill continued. "The knowledge of its location was lost after Rambaldi disappeared, scattered by the same people that dispersed the rest of his artifacts and writings. All of the information about this temple, information complied by the man that found it, was lost as well. I had Irina help me twenty-seven years ago, in faking my own death, to focus my attention on relocating the temple. I found it in Egypt two months ago."

"Do you know what the greatest power is?" I questioned. Bill shook his head.

"No, I don't," he answered after a moment. "I have heard references, however, of security devices – booby traps, if you will – there. Going in search of it will certainly be dangerous."

"We have to make sure we've got backup," my father said. "We have no choice but to at least _go_ to the temple where the artifact is located."

"I've got it taken care of," Vaughn stated, speaking for the first time since all three of us entered the room. My father glanced over at him, but didn't say anything contrary to his statement. "We should be able to handle Sloane."

"Arvin Sloane is a part of this?" Bill questioned, looking over at my mother for confirmation.

"Yes," she replied with a nod. "He presented us with an opportunity to take him into custody, and we had no choice but to take it."

"I think it's ridiculous," my father threw in under his breath. I shot him a look, unhappy that he always had to express his opinion about my mother's plans.

"It is certainly a danger, but whatever you feel is necessary," Bill answered, shaking his head a little and addressing his reply directly to my mother. "Either way, we should leave soon. If Arvin Sloane is anywhere close to locating the greatest power, we will want to find it first."

OOOOO

All of us went back to the airport, trying to secure the soonest available flight to Egypt to locate Rambaldi's greatest power. Sydney and Nadia went with Jack and Irina, leaving my father and I together until they returned with news of a flight.

For several minutes, the two of us sat at one of the small airport lounges in complete silence. I focused most of my attention on listening to random bits and pieces of conversation around the area, even some in languages that I couldn't translate. I could sense that my father watched me, wanting to talk after our rather awkward first meeting. But I wasn't sure that I was ready to say anything more to him.

I felt a little better after getting a chance to talk to Sydney, but wasn't comfortable discussing any of that with my father. After thinking about the whole thing for a little while, I finally decided to let it go. If he wanted to talk, I imagined he would start a conversation. Besides, I still had to worry about what would happen the next time I spoke with Sloane.

"That woman – Jack Bristow's daughter," my father started, drawing me out of my thoughts. I knew when he said Jack's name that he meant Sydney and not Nadia. "The two of you work together?"

"Yeah," I answered shortly.

"For how long?" he continued.

"Few years," I replied. "I've known her for a little over five years, but… It's complicated," I finally allowed with a sigh.

"Because of your marriage?" he questioned. I looked at him in surprise, suddenly realizing that he knew there was more than a 'professional' relationship between Sydney and me.

"That's a part of it," I replied after a long moment, wondering if Jack or Irina was the one to tell him about my relationship with their daughter. "It wasn't that I _was_ married so much as that I _got _married."

"Something happened," my father filled in. "Something that took her away from you." I nodded a little.

"Is there anyone in this line of work that doesn't disappear or die, and then come back in a couple of years like nothing happened?" I questioned honestly.

"Only the ones you never hear about," he answered with a smile. Despite myself, I smiled back. For several minutes, both of us remained silent, lost in our own thoughts.

"Going after this artifact," I started. "How dangerous will it really be?"

"A lot of it depends on what happens inside that temple," he replied after a moment. "I wish that I could predict something for you, or offer you more information, but I can't."  
"Predict what?" I questioned, confused.

"The outcome of all of this," he answered seriously. "All I can tell you is… I hope you discover the correct choice."

He sat back in his chair, looking off towards the counter where the others went, and signaling the end of the conversation with his next remark.

"And I hope you have the courage to make it."


	48. Chapter Forty Eight

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Hey everyone! I am so, so sorry that this took so long to get posted. I've got the ideas, but filling in the actual story around the basic idea is taking a long time. Looking at some of the recent stuff, it seems more like filler than actual story to me, so I got a bit discouraged for a while. Plus, work sucks the creativity right out of me, and the last day off I had I got the flu, so... Anyway, here's chapter 48 and again I am sorry that it took so long.

Thanks to **ArodLoverus2001, Mizzle fo' Rizzle, christine, Danielle87, Gils, Jackie, oOspuffy4everOo, **and **twinmuse**for reviewing. (And for making me reach 200 reviews and setting ANOTHER new record at 8 reviews for chapter 47 - you guys are seriously the best!)

OOOOO

My father got flights for everyone, all on the same plane, although – due to the last-minute purchase – most of the tickets left our group divided. He had two seats together, by some miracle, and without a second thought he gave those tickets to Vaughn and I. I knew it would be much more convenient for all of us to sit in the same area of the plane, but I also knew that it was safer if we _weren't _all together.

Considering that we left from Italy, it would not be a long flight to reach Egypt. I felt happy about that. After spending so much time on planes lately, I just wanted to stay in one place for a while. Before we boarded the plane, the small cell phone that my mother gave Vaughn rang. It was Sloane. Vaughn told him that the location was a temple in Egypt, and that he could meet up with my parents at a small library and go to the temple from there, as Bill was still the only one that knew how to find it.

Currently, our plan was to meet up with whatever 'backup' Vaughn set up, and apprehend Sloane at the temple. That meant Vaughn and my parents would go to the temple to find it and look over the location, make sure there wouldn't be any surprises waiting there, and then go back to meet Sloane. I knew he would have some kind of a plan to 'convince' them that I remained in his custody, and only hoped that everything would go off without a hitch. Our plan was nowhere near flawless, and any number of things could go horribly wrong.

I didn't bother to ask Vaughn what he meant when he said that the he took care of our backup I knew he contacted Weiss before I escaped Sloane's custody, and that probably had something to do with this plan of his. But, just getting Weiss and Dixon and Will back into the middle of everything would never be enough manpower. There was more to it than that. But the question remained, what?

I glanced over at Vaughn, glad that my father felt considerate enough to give us the seats beside one another on the flight to Egypt. Vaughn sat staring out the window, obviously lost in thought considering how little there was to see at this altitude. I reached one hand over, gently placing it over his. He glanced over at me, smiling and then returning his gaze to the window.

"Are you okay?" I questioned, my voice quiet so that I didn't disturb any of the other passengers. Vaughn nodded, turning again and looking back at me.

"I'm all right," he assured me. "It's just something… Something my father said," he explained after a moment, sighing a little. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was still getting used to saying that – to referring to his father in the present tense.

"What?" I questioned.

"Something about what might happen inside that temple, I think," he answered, shaking his head a little in confusion. "He said he hoped I would 'find the right choice and then have the courage to make it'. That's all he would tell me."

"A choice about what?" I continued. He just shook his head again, indicating that he didn't know. I sighed, remaining silent for a long moment. "You don't think something might go wrong with this plan, do you? Because of your father?"

"It might," he replied honestly. "So far, all I know about him is that he's a Follower of Rambaldi. He has some connection to Nadia, although I'm not really sure what that connection is, aside from the fact that she probably doesn't remember it. He worked with your mother to fake his own death, back when she was still an active KGB agent, and stayed completely off the radar for almost thirty years. No one here has any idea who his contacts are or which organizations they work for, or of anything he's done all that time he was missing. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I trust him." I nodded a little. That was a feeling I became all too familiar with over the last several years.

"You think this is some kind of a trap," I stated simply.

"Yeah, I do," Vaughn agreed. "And what's worse is that I think Sloane might be in on it, and we're going to walk right into the middle."

"But then why tell you? Why did he give you a clue to it, if it's actually even a trap in the first place?"

"To make me think it wasn't. To act cryptic, like this is some kind of a game to see if I can figure it out before it's too late. To make me trust him enough to keep my mouth shut because he might know more about Rambaldi, or have information that we couldn't ignore. There are a lot of good reasons." He sighed. "I wish I could _pick _one."

"Or he might really be on our side, and he just feels concerned about what might happen when we find the greatest power. Our plan isn't foolproof by any means, and I'm sure he knows that," I replied. Even though I knew less about Bill than even Vaughn did, I didn't want to jump to any conclusions. I had to admit, however, that we didn't have any guarantee of his loyalties. While I couldn't imagine the man as a traitor, I still knew next to nothing about him, and the only impression I ever received was from Vaughn's childhood memories. After all this time, that impression meant absolutely nothing.

"I don't know," he finally said, interrupting my thoughts as he returned his attention to the window. "But I don't trust him."

OOOOO

The six of us landed in Egypt just at nightfall. I hated the idea of going up against Sloane in the middle of the night, mostly because it added a whole new set of problems and unpredictability to an already shaky plan. I would feel a lot more comfortable squaring off against him when I could actually _see _him, especially since I knew he would have plans of his own.

We split into two groups at the airport, Bill traveling with my parents and Nadia joining Vaughn and I. Some of the reason for that was because a large group was more conspicuous, and some of it was because six people wouldn't fit into one cab. My father's plan was to meet up at the small library where everyone but Nadia and I would see Sloane. We would travel to the temple from there. I would wait there with Nadia, and – supposedly – our backup would arrive and get into position before Sloane arrived. Everyone seemed comfortable leaving the planning to my father, considering his game theory experience.

And, of course, we had to apprehend Sloane at the temple. One of the first things that occurred to me was to take him into custody at the library and not even give him the chance to reach the greatest power, but we needed to make it perfectly clear to the CIA that we arrested him to stop him from committing a crime. There was also some speculation, mostly by my mother, that he might know more about the temple, and we needed time to get that information from him before attempting to enter it. The trip from the library to the temple might allow us that time.

No one said much on the way to the library. Nadia spent most of the drive staring out the window of the cab, looking at nothing. I could tell something bothered her, but didn't want to press it. After the very brief discussion we had about Rambaldi on the way to Italy, I felt certain that she didn't want to talk about it. After what happened with Sloane, with the elixir and whatever went on during the search for the Sphere of Life, I knew the entire subject made her uncomfortable.

In addition to that, I couldn't seem to get the words of Rambaldi's prophecies out of my head. I didn't say anything to the others, but knew that everyone probably had the same thing in mind. Was it wise to leave Nadia and I alone at the temple? Rambaldi prophesized the two of us would have some kind of climactic battle over his greatest power. Leaving us there to do so was probably not the best idea. I already convinced myself that, no matter _what_ happened, I would not get into a fight with my sister. But, even I didn't know how much free will was involved in all of this anymore. Maybe I didn't have any control over what would happen here, once we reached the final artifact in this race.

"Are you all right?" I looked over, seeing Nadia watching me. I smiled a little in reply, nodding to reassure her, even though I could see she remained unconvinced. Vaughn glanced over at the two of us for a moment before returning his attention to the window of the cab. "We're almost there."

"Okay," I replied quietly before sinking back into my thoughts.

OOOOO

"All right," my father began, regrouping everyone once we arrived at the small library. It was closed because it was after midnight, but he wasted no time in picking the lock and letting everyone inside, stating that it was safer to stay out of sight for as long as possible. "We should get to the temple as soon we can. Sloane won't wait to head here, and if he finds the place empty, he will suspect something."

"He's still at least a few hours behind us," Vaughn replied. "We should have enough time to get there and back."

"The temple is a good distance away from here," Bill threw in. Everyone glanced over at him, seeing that he moved to sit at one of the study tables, and presently looked at a large map of the area that he found somewhere in one of the cabinets. "We might not be able to make it back in time."

"Okay. Sydney, Nadia, go to the temple," my father said, looking over at Nadia and I as he spoke. "Get set up there, and we'll meet you once Sloane arrives."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I questioned.

"Better than Sloane finding out that this is a trap," my mother added, shrugging a little. "We have a dangerous plan, there's not much we can do about it. There will be risks, either way."

"I can show you how to get there, but you will have to be quick," Bill stated. Nadia went over to the map he spread out on the large table, dropping into a hushed conversation about the best route to take there.

"If we're lucky, we can stall Sloane until sunrise. That should make it easier to apprehend him, provided he remains _outside _the temple," my father continued. "I don't want the two of you wandering inside." He gave me one of his famous fatherly looks, and my first instinct was to roll my eyes at him, but I refrained from actually doing it.

"I'll call Weiss, he should get everything out there in time," Vaughn said, explaining this more to me than to my father. I nodded a little.

"If Sloane acts predictably, this will all work just fine," my father stated, shooting a glare over at Vaughn before continuing. "We have to make sure that he doesn't surprise us with _anything_."

"We should go," Nadia interrupted, walking back over so that she stood beside me. I nodded slightly in agreement, and she headed for the door. My parents both went back to where Bill stood to look over the map as well. Vaughn came over beside me, and I could see the concern on his face.

"Will you be all right with Nadia?" he questioned. I thought for a long moment before replying.

"I hope so," I answered. "She saved me from Sloane, but I still don't know what might happen when we get to the temple. I mean, did she really play him or is she playing us?" Vaughn nodded a little, understanding my sentiments exactly. "I don't know if I can trust her not to turn on me."

"I'll tell Weiss to hurry. It shouldn't take him long, I'm pretty sure they're already here somewhere," Vaughn replied.

"Thanks," I replied with a smile. He returned the smile, leaning in and kissing me gently. I stepped back first, smiling at him one last time before following my sister outside. She stood by one of the large columns that marked the entrance to the library, waiting for me. "Are we ready?"

"Should be," she answered. "Getting there is pretty straightforward, but we don't have any kind of transportation. We might have to walk some of the way. There's no road, but I did see a car out back."

"Think anyone would mind if we borrowed it?" I questioned, smiling a little. Nadia returned the smile.

"I guess there's only one way to find out."

OOOOO

I called Weiss right after Sydney and Nadia left the library, telling him that they were on the way to the temple. I managed to get decent directions out of Jack, despite his impatience with whatever it was I wanted, and told Weiss that the quicker he got there, the better. Once I was off the phone, it was just a matter of waiting until Sloane showed up.

I could tell everyone remained a bit nervous about what might happen when he actually arrived. Of course, he still thought he had the upper hand, or so it seemed. It hadn't occurred to me right off, but I did realize that he could convince us of that fact, and then start formulating another strategy entirely when Sydney escaped his custody. There was still a good chance that he would surprise us, and I did agree with Jack – that would be disastrous.

Just over two hours passed before Irina came inside and said she saw a car maybe ten minutes out, coming from the direction of the airport. I looked over at Jack, who nodded, resigned. He spent most of the last two hours shooting displeased glares at me, still angry that I agreed to Irina's plan. I could see my father as well, seated at the same study table where he spread the map out, eyes closed almost like he was meditating. I didn't bother to ask.

"We should get ready to leave," Jack stated, walking over towards the door and glancing outside. "That car will be here before much longer."

"Do you think Sark is with him?" Irina questioned, glancing over at Jack. He just shook his head a little, shrugging to indicate that he didn't know. Another uncomfortable silence fell over the room as we waited for the black sedan to come up to the library. I got to my feet and followed Jack and Irina outside, watching the car pull up. It stopped in front of the door, the passenger side door opening. Sloane stepped out, smiling a little at the three of us.

"How nice to see everyone again," he said almost sarcastically, glancing back over his shoulder as he spoke. Sark stepped out of the driver's side of the car, looking around to check for any backup we might have.

"Where is Sydney?" Jack questioned. Sloane's face broke out into a full grin now.

"Now Jack," he chided, looking down at his hands rather calmly. "You should know that better than I do. I imagine she's well on her way to Rambaldi's temple, with her sister." He looked back up at Jack. "After she escaped from my compound, I knew she would find you as soon as possible. What interests me is why you continued to play along."

Before Jack could respond, a slight movement caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. When I turned to look, I saw that Irina had stepped away from Jack and me, and now held a gun leveled at us. I had no idea where my father was, but imagined he stayed inside, maybe watching all of this transpire.

"They wanted to put a CIA support team at the temple. Take you into custody. It was my idea, knowing that they could never get agency sanctioned backup here that quickly," Irina said, smiling at Sloane over her shoulder. Jack just smiled cynically and shook his head, and I immediately realized how illogical it was that Irina would come up with that plan in the first place. "Of course, I would never suggest something like that, because they would try to arrest me as well."

"So, once again you double cross everyone in order to reach your best interests," Jack snapped. "I should have known."

"Yes, you should have," Irina replied. "And I'm doing this for the best interests of my children. If they get to the artifact before we do, they will _kill_ each other trying to get a hold of it."

"You don't know that," I stated. Irina looked over at me, but I already knew I couldn't hope to reason with her.

"This way, no one _has _to die tonight," she stated, looking at Jack with resignation. I looked back towards the doors of the library, seeing my father step outside. He looked around at the situation, and didn't seem too surprised.  
"Ah, William. Nice of you to join us," Sloane said with a grin. My father nodded his greeting.

"Arvin," he replied.

"Well, now that we're all reacquainted, I suggest we continue on," Sark threw in, interrupting the odd moment between my father and Sloane. Sloane glanced at Sark and nodded to Irina. She moved behind Jack, telling him to get into the car. I started that direction as well, but my father put up a hand to stop me. I looked over at him in question.

"Stay here," he stated firmly.

"You planned this whole thing, didn't you?" I snapped, figuring that he was on Sloane's side in all of this. He just sighed, looking at me for a moment.

"You still don't understand what you're in the middle of," he stated, shaking his head. "Stay here, or I guarantee one of them will shoot you." He didn't give me the chance to argue, instead turning away and going to the car as well.

"I'll give Sydney your regards," Sloane said to me with an evil grin on his face, before slipping back into the car as well. I thought of giving chase, but knew what my father said was the truth – if I went after them, there was a good chance I would get shot. The car's engine roared to life, and the vehicle started off.

Of course it made perfect sense. Weiss and Dixon were on the way to the temple as well, to backup Sydney and Nadia. If I wanted to get out there and catch up to Sloane, they wouldn't make it to the temple in time. Even if they did, Sydney and Nadia had no idea that Sloane caught onto our plan, and that Irina double-crossed us again.

Either way, I needed to get out there.


	49. Chapter Forty Nine

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **ArodLoverus2001, Eyghon, Danielle87, Dalla7, tine, Mizzle fo' Rizzle, **and **Unsigned** for reviewing chapter 48! I know, I know, I can't seem to make up my mind which characters are good and which ones are evil. I guess that's just the curse of this story - everyone is doomed to switch sides at least half a dozen times before I get to the end to facilitate what I want to do with the plot. I'm sorry about that, but at least it keeps things interesting, right? I promise there's a reason for it, and things will eventually get a little more clear-cut. But, hey, it's like mid-season, right? Nothing's supposed to make sense. Anyway, thanks again for reviewing and continuing to read despite the fact that I seem to go over the same old territory over and over, and here's chapter 49. Please review!

**Confrontations  
**EPISODE 4.13

"They should be here by now," I stated, glancing at my watch for probably the hundredth time since Nadia and I arrived at Rambaldi's temple. She looked over at me, but chose not to reply. I shook my head, standing and shielding my eyes against the sun as I looked out over the desert. The two of us stood in the literal middle of nowhere. Most of the temple seemed to be underground, a small structure not much taller than I was all that we could see from the surface. It took me all of three minutes to realize how our plan would never work – Sloane would see us from miles away.

"Maybe they're lost," Nadia replied. I knew Sloane was on the way, and that meant our backup was getting dangerously late. Not that I knew what the hell we would do with support when and if it ever showed up, but it still worried me that we didn't see another soul after leaving the library in the middle of the night. It was just after sunrise, and I already felt the heat rising in the sand around me. "We didn't have the most direct route either."

I nodded, pacing back to the small structure and leaning back against the wall again. Nadia stood across from me, leaning on the wall at the other side of the doorway. She glanced out at the desert, squinting into the light.

"I don't like this," I finally added, shaking my head in disbelief. "There's no way Sloane will get anywhere near this place with the two of us standing out in plain sight."

"Jack warned us not to go inside," Nadia replied without looking over at me. I sighed, nodding a little and glancing over at her. After a long moment, she looked over at me in question.

"Are you sure you're all right with this?" I asked. She paused for a moment before nodding.

"If Rambaldi was right, we have to keep the power away from my father," she answered with a small shrug, looking away again. "Besides, we've already got this plan anyway."

"Right," I agreed. For a long moment, neither of us said anything. "Maybe there's more space around back. I'll go check."

"I'll wait here," Nadia stated. I agreed and started off. "I'll yell if I see them," she called after me.

I circled around the small entryway, looking around as I did so. The desert seemed completely devoid of anything even _resembling _life, which I supposed was pretty common. Even as I walked, I could tell this structure offered no cover whatsoever. It was made of stone, the whole thing very flat and stout, save the doorway in the front. There wasn't even any kind of an alcove that a person could fit into in order to hide. The entire structure was about ten feet long, maybe four feet wide. And, as Nadia and I discovered by walking past the structure twice before finally spotting it, it was difficult to see if you didn't look right at it.

"Figures," I muttered under my breath, realizing that something like this was pretty typical of Rambaldi. One thing was for certain about all of his artifacts and puzzles, and even his words to me when I met him inside the Sphere of Life – nothing was _ever_ what I expected.

I figured I might as well check the other side of the structure as well, though I found exactly what I expected – more of the same. Straight, flat, brick wall. Even the corners were useless, because anyone moving towards the structure could see almost all the way around it.

"There's nothing there," I said as I came back around to the front of the small entryway. As I stepped back to the doorway, however, I noticed that Nadia was no longer there. I glanced around, but knew if she went off into the desert somewhere, I would see her almost immediately. That left only one other option.

She went inside.

Despite the warning my father gave us about not going into the temple – that it would be much easier to handle Sloane out in the open – I started in. There was a small platform through the door that dropped into a steep staircase. I couldn't see a thing, immediately going for a small utility flashlight clipped to my belt. My father gave it to me, along with a gun, before Nadia and I left the library. Since we left in the middle of the night, he knew we would need something to navigate the desert.

I turned the small light on, trying to gauge how far the stairs descended. I didn't know if it was just the distance or something more ominous that seemed to swallow up the beam of the flashlight, and decided I didn't care. Glancing back over my shoulder one last time, I started down the steps.

The corridor smelled like mildew and ancient air. It didn't seem like anyone came this way in a very long time. It briefly struck me that someone could have passed this way long ago and stolen whatever was inside the temple, leaving us on a wild goose chase. When I considered that every other Rambaldi artifact I came across in the last several years remained perfectly in tact, despite five hundred years of age and god knew what else, I doubted the robbery theory held much weight.

I thought about calling out to Nadia, trying to determine how far ahead of me she went, but decided against it. For one, I didn't know if she was on my side of all of this in the first place. If she thought I followed her, she might disappear further into the temple. Or, if she had a weapon on her as well – which I assumed she did – she might just shoot me and keep moving.

It was that last thought that influenced me to have my weapon in one hand and the flashlight in the other as I moved through the corridors of the temple. My eyes scanned over the walls as I continued down the stairs, finally stepping into a slightly wider hallway. I could tell by the chill coming off the rocks that I traveled far underground now, though I couldn't make a reasonable guess as to exactly how far. Glancing back up the stairs gave me no information whatsoever – the ceiling was so low that the doorway vanished long before I reached the bottom.

Once I stepped into the corridors of the temple itself, things started to look different. The stone forming the stairway was uneven, and covered in dust and grime. The walls around me now were smooth, and because of the construction of the entrance, none of the sand from the desert above reached this far. There was some kind of writing all over the walls as well. It took me a moment to recognize it – Rambaldi's code.

Despite the fact that I wanted to stay here a moment and look over whatever I saw written on the walls, I continued after my sister. I knew that, if everything went well, there would be plenty of time to examine everything inside the temple in greater detail. For now, my priority remained to find out where Nadia went, and why she vanished without saying a word to me. She obviously wanted to get away from me, but why?

I moved as quietly as I could through the stone corridor, all the way to the end and around another sharp corner. In front of me I saw another stairway, leading even further down. I took a moment to look around, hoping there was another path somewhere. I knew the further down I went, the less chance there was to make it back to the surface in time. Still, leaving Nadia inside wasn't the ideal situation either. I didn't know what her agenda was, and I couldn't let her get to the artifact alone.

With that in mind, I continued down.

The air got even thicker as I went, making it difficult to breathe. The second staircase was shorter than the first, and opened into a larger room. It was still pitch black inside, and I couldn't see anything other than what the thin beam of my flashlight illuminated. I lowered the light to the ground for a moment, hoping to catch another flicker of light from somewhere that might lead me to Nadia's location. There was nothing. I knew she didn't go inside without a light – it would be crazy to do so. But, I didn't see any sign of her here.

I started to turn back to the stairway, wanting to get back to the surface and take another look around. I figured maybe my initial suspicion was wrong, and that Nadia wasn't down here, when I saw a faint glow coming from the left corner of the room. It barely lit another passage, curving back under the second staircase. Leaving my own light trained on the ground, I went to this new opening and looked inside.

All I could see from where I stood was a sharp corner leading off to another room. I glanced back over my shoulder at the larger room, knowing that going back to the surface was the smartest option. I could wait for backup and then venture back down here, see where that light came from. But, my curiosity eventually got the best of me, and I stepped into the corridor.

Whatever produced this new light gave the hall a very dull amber glow, but even that seemed bright compared to the complete darkness of the upstairs corridor and the room I just left. I turned off my flashlight, returning it to my belt and stretching one hand out to follow the wall, weapon still at the ready. Just like the wall upstairs, this wall was smooth and had the same writing all over it, in small lettering written with thick black ink. I imagined that someone painted all of these words here after Rambaldi's greatest power was left here, and it must have taken months of work, if not more.

Suddenly, the wall fell away from my fingertips. I turned, seeing a large arch in the stone before me, opening this hallway up to a large room. The light I saw came from here, a soft glow coming off several small metallic objects scattered all over the floor. I didn't have a clue as to where the light came from before reflecting off these objects, but something else held my attention right off.

Every few feet, in all three of the other walls of this large room I saw a doorway. Each doorway led off into a different corridor, creating a very complicated maze of paths for me to choose from. I had no idea where Nadia went, if she even came down here in the first place. I saw at least a dozen different doors, most of them probably coming to dead-ends or connecting to one another, just to make navigating around in here more complicated.

"Great," I said to myself with a tired sigh. "This should be _fun_."

Deciding whether or not to call Weiss and have him and Dixon come to the library before going to the temple didn't take very long. If I left things the way they stood, Sloane and the others would get to the temple. No one there had any idea that he knew of our plan, and that Irina was apparently on his side. Sydney and Nadia didn't stand a chance against that.

So, barely twenty minutes after Sloane's car drove away, Weiss and Dixon showed up in a military-issue Jeep. Thankfully, it looked like it this vehicle was used to travel over the desert, which gave us a definite advantage over Sloane's sedan. I still didn't know how much time we had at this point, and wasted none getting back on the road to the temple.

"What the hell _happened_?" Weiss asked, looking at me like I lost my mind the second I was in the car. Dixon knew not to waste time, gunning the engine and roaring off again. I told Weiss I would explain on the way, sighing and shaking my head a little at his lack of patience. I did explain that Irina had her own agenda, and put a gun to Jack's head before she and my father both joined Sloane and Sark. I also told him that it seemed my father was on Sloane's side of all of this, and that this knowledge didn't really surprise me.

"We need to get out there before Sloane does," I stated. "Sydney and Nadia don't know any of this."

"They don't have a radio or something?" Weiss asked.

"We didn't have any gear with us, and the only cell phone we had was the one Sloane used to contact me. Irina said they couldn't take it, because if Sloane couldn't reach me he would know," I explained.

"Which she _would_ say because she's a part of his endgame. Giving Sydney the cell phone would allow her to be compromised," Dixon added, glancing in the rearview mirror to look back at Weiss and I, seated in the back of the Jeep. I just nodded tiredly, and Weiss looked annoyed with this turn of events.

"Well, I'm never trusting anyone again, _ever_," he whispered sarcastically, turning his attention to the one map I grabbed off the table before meeting them outside. "You said this place is right out here somewhere?" He pointed to a general area of the map.

"Yeah, but I don't have direct instructions. I think Jack wanted to ignore me at the time," I stated, shaking my head in disbelief. _Bet he wishes he handled _that _one differently right about now_, I added silently.

"And Sloane doesn't have a vehicle capable of driving all that way. We _should_ get there first," Dixon threw in.

"Unless they switched cars somewhere," Weiss added. Both Dixon and I glared at him. "Okay, I'll pretend I didn't just say that."

For several minutes, no one said anything. Weiss crawled up to the front seat of the vehicle, a scene that I might have found incredibly funny if it weren't for the gravity of the situation. He and Dixon conversed about the map for a moment, trying to find the most direct route to the very generalized area we had to work with. After a bit of bickering and more of an argument than a discussion, they fell silent again.

I glanced out the window, seeing that reached the middle of the desert now. It was morning, and while that did give us certain advantages, there would be difficulties as well. It would be easier to see Sloane, of course, but it also made it easier for him to see us. If he beat us to the temple, he would either see us coming or already be inside when we arrived.

"Hey." I looked up, seeing Weiss staring at me, concern evident in his eyes as he noted the expression on my face. "We're gonna make it, all right?" I nodded a little; even though it seemed perfectly clear to everyone in the vehicle that I didn't believe a word he said. "We'll make it."


	50. Chapter Fifty

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Thanks to **ArodLoverus2001, Danielle87, Eyghon, SoApQueEn, tine, Mizzle fo' Rizzle, **and **Gils** for reviewing chapter 49! Again, I am so sorry that it takes me so long to get these updates out. I have these ideas and it takes me like a week to get anything put on paper. RL is kicking my butt and I don't like it. Anyway, thank you guys so, so much for the continued support. Here's chapter 50. The song in this one is "Passive" by A Perfect Circle.

OOOOO

Even before Weiss, Dixon and I reached Rambaldi's temple out in the middle of the Egyptian desert, I knew that Sloane beat us there. I could see a second desert vehicle parked just to the side of a small brick structure rising maybe six feet out of the sand. Dixon stopped the engine, coasting the car a short distance before it came to a halt. Weiss looked over at him in question.

"If anyone is outside, we don't want them to hear us," Dixon explained. The three of us climbed out of the vehicle, walking the rest of the way towards the structure. Since it appeared that Sloane already reached the temple, Dixon handed me a gun and suggested that everyone move as quietly and low to the ground as possible, to reduce the chance that someone would see us.

I reached the side of the structure first, glancing around the corner to the front. I saw Sark emerge from the small doorway, squinting at the bright light and putting on a pair of dark sunglasses. Dixon came up behind me, and I motioned for him to go around to the other side of the structure. Surrounding Sark would give us the chance to see if Sloane or the others were anywhere to be seen, and give him less of a chance to escape.

Weiss stayed with me as Dixon disappeared around the other corner of the building. I kept my gaze locked on Sark as he stepped over to the Jeep, leaning back against the side of the vehicle and looking out over the desert. I glanced around the corner again, seeing Dixon at the ready. I nodded, and everyone started moving.

Dixon and I both had guns at the ready, aiming them right at Sark. Weiss emerged behind me, yelling for Sark to put his hands behind his head. He looked over at the three of us as if he found something amusing, smirking as he followed Weiss's instructions.

"I knew someone was late to the party," he said sarcastically, aiming his statement more at me than at Weiss and Dixon.

"Keep quiet and I won't shoot you," Weiss shot back, shooting Sark a sarcastic glare. Sark smiled again, kneeling down on the sand and keeping his hands clasped behind his head. "Where's Sloane?"

"I do believe he's inside," Sark answered. "And, as I said… You're a bit late to the party."

"Yeah, we caught that part," Weiss snapped. Dixon glared at him, trying to get the two of them to stop arguing. Weiss glared at Sark again but didn't say anything else. I just shook my head at both of them.

"We'll keep an eye on him. Go find Sydney," Dixon said to me. I nodded, turning away and going inside the temple.

OOOOO

I lost track of time wandering through the seemingly endless corridors in the central room of the temple. I gave up on the small flashlight after trying a few different paths, scooping up a couple of the small metallic objects off the floor of the main room. I examined one of them for a minute, trying to figure out where the light came from. After a moment, I realized it wasn't reflected off anything, but that still didn't answer my question. Finally, I decided I could figure it out later, and went back to looking for my sister.

Half of the corridors I tried dead-ended, and some of them connected to each other, leaving me wondering which ones I already tried and which ones I hadn't. After trying six or seven of them, I started to get frustrated.

I stepped out of another of the doorways, finding myself back in the lower right corner of the room. I sighed in annoyance, brushing my hair out of my face and looking around the room. I couldn't see anything that gave me any kind of a clue as to which way to go; which left me with nothing. Aside from that, I felt certain that my parents and Sloane already arrived, and I was no closer to finding my sister.

"Yeah, _this _will be an easy one to explain," I muttered under my breath, thinking of the look my father would give me when I got back to the surface. I was about to start towards one of the other doorways when I heard something on the stairway leading down into this room. Knowing it might be Sloane, I ducked back into the doorway behind me, wrapping my hand into a fist around the small metal object I carried for light.

To my surprise, the figure on the stairs was Bill Vaughn. He stepped into the center of the room, taking no notice of me as he picked up a couple of the small metal things off the floor. He glanced up, eyes scanning the area for a long moment. Finally, he started off again, going through the door in the upper right corner of the room.

It suddenly struck me that he knew where to go.

I waited a moment before following him. I still didn't have any idea where Sloane and the others were, or why in the hell Bill was here but Vaughn was nowhere to be seen. Still, I wanted to try and find Nadia, and Bill seemed to know his way around where I didn't, so it couldn't hurt to try following him.

About halfway down the corridor, I started to hear voices. I stopped again, listening for a moment. It took a moment before I realized it was Bill, and that he was in conversation with Nadia.

"You have the key?" Nadia asked. I tucked my 'light' away again, pressing up against the wall at the corner of the hallway to listen.

"Yes, it's here," he replied. There was a long pause. "Are you certain about going through with this?"

"I came all the way out here, didn't I?" Nadia retorted, a kind of anger in her voice I hadn't heard there since Russia. The sound sent a chill down my spine. "After everything that happened, I still ended up right where you said I would."

"Sometimes, predicting the future is all it takes to make it come true," Bill answered quietly. I could see the two of them around the corner, working with some kind of elaborate locking device on an old stone door. I stayed where I was, intrigued for the moment by their conversation. It almost seemed that the two of them _planned _this.

I remembered seeing them talking at the library before Nadia and I left, wondering if they set all of this up during that conversation. Several more minutes passed, and then I heard a 'whooshing' sound as the door slid open, dust flying out. I realized with a chill that this room probably remained closed for five hundred years.

"Let's go," Bill started. I looked out around the corner, surprised when Nadia pulled her gun on him.

"Against the wall," she ordered. He looked at her in surprise, not quite sure how to react to this turn of events. "I'm not letting anyone get to that artifact."

"Nadia, you don't understand. What lies in that room-"

"Belongs to someone other than you," she interrupted. "I know you think you sacrificed enough to have the right to retrieve it, but I won't let you _near_ that device until my father is here."

Realizing that Nadia would wait for Sloane – that she probably planned to hand the greatest power over to him – I knew I didn't have another option. I stepped out around the corner, gun drawn and aimed at Nadia.

"No one goes in that room," I stated matter-of-factly. Nadia looked over at me, anger flaring in her eyes when she realized that I followed her inside the temple.

"Sydney, go back now," she started.

"I can't do that," I replied. "I can't let you hand whatever's in that room over to Arvin Sloane, and if _shooting _you is the only way to stop you, _fine_." Nadia narrowed her eyes.

"This isn't what it looks like, now go before someone else comes down here!" Nadia shouted in reply. I looked from her to Bill, and then back at my sister. I couldn't tell if she wanted me out of the way to protect me or because she really wanted to hand the artifact over to Sloane. "Sydney, please, just _trust_ me on this."

I stared at her for a long moment, unsure of what to do next. I looked over at Bill, seeing that his gaze remained locked on the gun. When I glanced back at Nadia, I realized that she stared at me, still pleading with me to do as she asked and stay out of the way of whatever plans she cooked up.

Before I could respond to her request, however, Bill grabbed Nadia's gun and wrenched it out of her hand. She cried out in surprise, running after him into the next room. I glanced back over my shoulder, praying that it would take Sloane and my parents a little while longer to figure out where the three of us were, and followed them inside.

OOOOO

Unfortunately, when I got inside the temple, things only got _more_ complicated. I knew that Jack and Irina would be inside somewhere with Sloane, and that my father was probably still with them. Sydney and Nadia went inside somewhere as well, but I had no idea where any of them _were_.

The main rooms of the temple stretched several hundred feet underground, and it was pitch black, making it impossible to see anything. I had to go back outside for a moment and get a flashlight from the Jeep, not missing the smirk that Sark directed my way as I did so. Dixon secured him, and Weiss tried to get a radio signal to get the police or _someone_ out there for backup, since everyone already ventured inside the temple. I didn't stick around to see whether or not it worked.

I went down a long stairwell and into a short corridor with some kind of writing all over the walls. After that I found another set of stairs and emerged in a much larger room. I couldn't tell what it was or even _where _it was in relation to the rest of the place, but shining my flashlight over the far wall eventually revealed another passage. I kept moving, hoping that I would catch up with Sloane and the others before something went wrong somewhere in the depths of the temple.

However, when I stepped into the adjoining room, I knew this wasn't going to be so easy. There was a small room in front of me, three different paths leading off in different directions. It didn't take long for me to realize that this was some kind of an ancient maze, probably designed to keep the curious explorer from ever finding Rambaldi's greatest power. If you knew which way to go, it wouldn't be that hard to navigate. If you had no clue, you could be lost down here forever.

I paused for a long moment, eyes scanning the walls in a futile attempt to find something that might be useful. Of course, I found nothing. Finally, I figured if I tried going in one direction, I could retrace my steps if I hit a dead end and, hopefully, not get lost somewhere and be unable to find my way back.

I tried going straight, passing through four more of the little rooms before I hit a dead end at a small room with no exits, other than the way I came in. I went back to the room where I started, going right this time and finding the same problem. Four rooms with even more paths, and then a dead end to sum up the corridor. The same was true of the left corridor as well, leaving me right back where I started.

I knew picking different directions was a risk, especially in the complete darkness of these corridors. There was absolutely _nothing_ distinguishing from one to the next, and I had no idea how I would to navigate back to the starting point if I hit a dead end somewhere down the line.

Finally, I resigned to go back to the larger room and look for another way around this area. However, as I rounded the corner, I already knew something changed since I last came through this room. A dull green glow came from the room now, and I could see a couple of glow sticks on the floor.

"Ah, Mister Vaughn." I looked up, seeing Sark seated on the stairway that led into this room. He smirked as he watched me step into the room, turning my flashlight off and watching him carefully. "Forgive the lack of proper lighting. Your associates detained me a bit longer than I expected and didn't really have the chance to dress the place up."

"What'd you do to Weiss and Dixon?" I questioned. Sark smiled outright, shaking his head a little.

"They're no worse off, I assure you. Unconscious, but alive and otherwise unharmed. My task now is simply to keep you from reaching Rambaldi's artifact before Mister Sloane has that same opportunity," Sark explained, coming all the way down the stairs and into the center of the large room. The glow sticks provided just enough light for me to see him, but weren't good for much else.

"So, what? You're gonna stand in the doorway or something?" I questioned, looking at Sark in disbelief. After everything I saw him do, I never saw him in a physical fight. Getting someone else to do the dirty work for him, no problem. Using some kind of a weapon, sure. Hand-to-hand combat? Not once. Not even when he tortured me. With Sark, it was all about the tools and the gadgets and the more 'inventive' things he cooked up.

"Just because I don't flaunt my skills, Mister Vaughn, does not mean they aren't there," he shot back, obviously catching on to what I thought. "And, while your friends _did_ manage to render my sidearm quite useless, I assure you that this will not be a problem."

_Dead as dead can be  
My doctor tells me  
But I just can't believe him  
Ever the optimistic one  
I'm sure of your ability  
To become my perfect enemy _

I didn't respond, watching as Sark stepped closer and kept his eyes locked on me. I could tell he tried to gauge the best way to attack, suddenly not so sure about this situation. I tightened my grip on the flashlight, thinking for a moment about reaching for the gun I strapped to my leg under my jeans, but realizing that Sark would immediately come at me if I made such a move. I didn't go for the weapon.

For several moments, both of us remained absolutely still. Then, moving faster than I expected, he came at me, ducking as I swung the heavy utility flashlight at him and slamming his forearm into my elbow. The flashlight immediately fell from my grasp, clattering to the ground. I knew it was broken the second it hit, but didn't have much time to think about it as Sark's other fist hit my chest, all the air rushing out of my lungs.

I fought to keep my balance as he continued this onslaught, elbowing me in the face and kicking the back of one leg. I fell to the ground and he stepped back, laughing a little and smiling down at me as I tried to catch my breath.

"Come now, Mister Vaughn. Surely you're not _that _out of shape," he chided. I kicked one leg up at his chest. He caught my foot without pause, twisting my leg painfully. I reacted quickly this time, going with his movement rather than fighting it and throwing him off balance. As he struggled to regain his footing, I brought my other leg around and swept his feet out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground as well.

We both jumped to our feet at the same moment, and I ducked another of his swings, kicking him in the stomach. He stumbled back against the wall, moving out of the way just before my fist came into contact with his jaw. I gritted my teeth in pain as my knuckles came into contact with the brick wall, pain shooting through my left hand and up my arm.

_Wake up  
And face me  
Don't play dead  
Cuz maybe  
Someday I will walk away  
And say  
You disappoint me  
Maybe you're better off this way _

I nearly fell to the ground again when Sark got a kick in directly under my arm, intensifying the pain I already felt. I used the wall to steady myself, spinning around and using my right arm to backhand him. His head lashed painfully to the side, and I could see the pain his neck was in when he turned to face me again.

I blocked the next kick he aimed at my stomach, grabbing his arm and twisting it around so he ended up with his back to me. I knew his shoulder probably healed from the last time I ripped it out of the socket, but he still fell to his knees at the pain in his back that this position caused him. I was about to go for my gun when he brought his other hand up, taking advantage of my lack of balance and grabbing the front of my shirt, bringing me to the floor again.

Again, we got to our feet at virtually the same time, though it took a little longer this time around. Pain throbbed in my hand, and while I tried to shake it off and tell myself it was nothing, I knew there was a good possibility that I broke at least some of the bones in my left hand. Sark circled me for a moment, and then tried again to kick me in the chest. I moved out of the way, waiting for him to get close enough to bring my knee into his stomach. He doubled over, and I drove my elbow into the back of his neck. He crumpled to the ground, giving me a chance to step back and retrieve my gun.

I cocked the weapon, clicking the safety off as Sark looked up at me. He smiled when he saw the weapon; knocking one of the glow sticks out from under his arm and shaking his head in defeat. I took another step away from him, not wanting to risk that he would knock my feet out from under me and get his hands on my gun.

_Leaning over you here  
__Cold and catatonic  
__I catch a brief reflection  
__What you could and might have been  
__It's your right  
__And your ability  
__To become my perfect enemy_

"I knew you stashed that weapon away somewhere," he admitted with resignation. "I just didn't know where you might hide it that it wouldn't come loose in a struggle."

"Guess I surprised you with that one then," I shot back sarcastically. "Where did Sloane go? I _know_ he told you how to get through that maze over there."

"No. He didn't," Sark replied, shaking his head.

"I don't believe you," I stated simply. He didn't say anything for a moment, and then shook his head a little. "Fine, I'll figure it out myself."

"The artifact isn't through that maze," Sark admitted suddenly. "There's another passage, behind the stairs there. The light I have here masks the light coming from that other corridor."

_Wake up (Why can't you)  
__And face me (Come on now)  
__Don't play dead (Don't play dead)  
__Cuz maybe (Cuz maybe)  
__Someday I will walk away  
__And say  
__You disappoint me  
__Maybe you're better off this way_

I kept my weapon trained on him, backing up to the stairs and looking over my shoulder. Sure enough, I saw an orange-ish glow coming from another path. I hadn't even thought to look that direction when I came through here the first time, and the glow sticks did just as Sark intended.

"Mister Sloane and the others are down there somewhere," he added. I looked back at him, stepping closer again. "Well?"

"'Well' what?" I questioned.

_Maybe you're better off this way  
Maybe you're better off this way  
You're better off this  
You're better off this  
Maybe you're better off _

"Surely you won't just leave me sitting here on the floor," he replied with a laugh. "Even you're not that stupid." I didn't reply. "And you can't come close enough to knock me unconscious without running the risk of losing your gun. Quite the dilemma you have here."

"Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head," I instructed. He smiled, but made no move to do as I said. "_Now_."

"Or what? You'll shoot me?" he questioned. "If that's what it comes to, go right ahead. Better than leaving me here to follow you, or taking the risk that you lose that weapon you're so proud of surprising me with."

_Wake up (Why can't you)  
__And face me (Come on now)  
__Don't play dead (Don't play dead)  
__Cuz maybe (Cuz maybe)  
__Someday I will walk away  
__And say  
__You fing disappoint me  
__Maybe you're better off this way_

Of course, I knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted to appeal to that twisted sense of logic Lauren programmed into me with the Inferno Protocol. He wanted to activate that conditioning. To make me cross that line, yet again, and shoot him in the head. I knew that was what he wanted, and even _that_ wasn't the worst part.

The worst part was that I _wanted_ to.

I could practically see myself walking over beside him and putting a bullet in his head. Getting him out of the way. After everything he did, the people he killed, the way he played absolutely everyone he _ever_ met, it would practically be doing the world a _favor_.

_Go ahead and play dead  
__I know that you can hear this  
__Go ahead and play dead  
__Why can't you turn and face me?  
__Why can't you turn and face me?  
__You fing disappoint me  
__Passive aggressive bulls_

"Why not?" Sark asked. I looked up at him, and then walked over right beside him. He smirked a little, just like Olivia did on the pier when I killed her. I pressed the gun right up against his temple and knelt down beside him.

"Because you're not worth it," I spat. I smacked him in the side of the head, hard, with the butt of the gun. He fell to the ground, unconscious. I took a moment to compose myself, and then grabbed one of the glow sticks and turned to the corridor he pointed out, going down after Sloane.


	51. Chapter Fifty One

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **I am SO SORRY that this took so long to get updated! I just want to assure everyone I haven't forgotten about this story or let it die or anything. Between work and moving into my new apartment and fighting with the cable company to get the Internet set up, it's been crazy. I finally got chapters 51 and 52 written and edited, and I'll post them both tonight for a double update since it's been so long since I was here last.

Thanks to **ArodLoverus2001, Danielle87, Christie, **and **Mizzle fo' Rizzle** for reviewing chapter 50. Here's the new chapters - once again I am sorry it took so long!

OOOOO

I ran after Bill and Nadia, not knowing what I might find in the next room, and not really caring. I knew that I had to keep both of them away from the artifact, and find some way to destroy it before Sloane caught up.

There was a short, twisted corridor that led into the next room. And, despite my rush to catch up with Bill and my sister, when I stepped into this new room, I had to stop for a moment and take a look around.

I knew we had to be underground still, and it suddenly occurred to me that the entire temple was built above ground, and over the past five hundred years, it sank into the sand until just the very top of the structure remained. There was no way the room I now stood in was built underground.

The ceiling rose at least twenty feet high, the walls covered in large sheets of the metallic material that gave off that eerie orange light. The ceiling was made of the same smoothed brick I saw upstairs, the ancient writing covering the stone there. The room was well lit because of the metallic panels, however, giving me a better chance to get a look around. Most of the room stood completely empty, but I saw a large pedestal of some kind in the center, a small object atop it.

I saw Nadia and Bill, off on the other side of the pedestal. Something caught the corner of my eye, and I looked down at the floor for a moment. Etched in the stone under my feet was the Eye of Rambaldi, the pedestal sitting directly in the center. I looked back up at Bill and my sister, seeing that both of them stared at the object on pedestal that I couldn't quite see from where I stood.

Keeping my gun at the ready just in case, I began to circle around the center of the room. As I rounded the pedestal, I looked over at the object sitting on top of it; something that I couldn't quite classify. It was about a foot tall, mostly round in shape, and glowed with a deep blue luminescence. Rambaldi's 'greatest power'.

I saw Nadia look over at me, a kind of sadness etched on her face that I couldn't explain. I glanced back over my shoulder at the doorway that led into this room, wanting to get away from the artifact before Sloane made his way inside.

"We have to get out of here," I stated matter-of-factly. Nadia looked at me for a moment, and then returned her gaze to Bill. He didn't even look over at me, just kept his gaze locked on the object in the center of the room.

"This is the final step in all of this," he said quietly, apparently lost in his own thoughts. For a long moment, no one said anything, and he finally looked over at me. "No one is leaving this room until it's over. Surely you know that."

"We're leaving," I stated again, stepping closer to Nadia and raising my gun. "Now."

"Sydney, don't be so rash." I turned again at the sound of that voice, seeing Sloane and my parents step into the room. The first thing I noticed was the smirk on Sloane's face. The second thing was the gun my mother pressed into my father's temple. "After all of the things each of us has been through, you must understand that no one is going to leave this room so easily."

"I will kill you before I let you near that artifact," I snapped.

"Don't, Sydney," my father warned me. I looked over at him, once again shocked to see my mother pressing a gun to his head.

"We've been in this predicament before," Sloane reminded me. "This can all end peacefully. Just step aside so I can claim what's rightfully mine."

"It's not 'rightfully' anyone's," I shot back. I turned my gun away from Nadia and aimed it at Sloane. He smiled.

"If you have to shoot me, go right ahead," he stated almost cheerfully. "I'm sure it will be easy to explain to the CIA why your ignorance got your father killed." I swallowed thickly, locking eyes with my father for a moment. I could see that this was no ploy. My mother played us again, and if I so much as thought about shooting Sloane, my father would suffer the consequences.

I lowered my weapon. Sloane's face broke out into a full-on grin.

"I knew you would understand the logic of my position sooner or later," he said. "Now, if you would kindly step aside, I would like to see what it is I came for." I did as he asked, moving out of the way. Nadia shot me another glare, and I knew I spoiled her plan somehow but didn't know exactly what she expected me to do. Sloane stepped past her and to the artifact.

Suddenly, I heard a gunshot go off. I looked over at Bill to see that he fired a round from Nadia's gun into the ceiling, and now he had his weapon aimed at Sloane. Before I could react, all manner of hell broke loose. Nadia sprang into action, running over to the pedestal to try and snatch the artifact before Sloane could get to it. Sloane grabbed her arm, pulling her back and struggling with her for a moment. I instantly turned my gun on my mother, firing a round into her shoulder to make her drop her gun.

She cried out and jerked away in surprise, my father snatching her gun off the floor and nodding to me that he was all right. I turned my attention back to Sloane and Nadia, seeing that he eventually managed to win out and throw her to the stone floor of the room. I aimed my weapon at him, seeing out the corner of my eye that my father pinned my mother into a corner on the other side of the room.

"Don't move!" I barked at Sloane. He looked over at me, and I could see the fury in his eyes. "You take one step and I _will_ kill you."

"You can't stop what's happening here, Sydney!" my mother called out to me from her position on the floor, clutching her wounded shoulder. I didn't even glance over at her, keeping my eyes locked on Sloane. "The only way you stand a chance is to give up now."

Suddenly, Bill ran at Sloane, knocking him aside and to the ground. Nadia was already on her feet, going back towards the door. I didn't know what her intentions might be, and it appeared that Bill chose my side while Nadia sided with her father, despite their brief struggle. So, I turned again to point my weapon at her, startled when I heard a gunshot go off again.

It took me a moment to realize what happened. Sloane got a hold of the gun that Bill took from Nadia. I looked over at the two of them, seeing Bill on the floor and Sloane with the weapon aimed at my father. Time seemed to slow as I turned again, looking over at my father. He looked down at his torso in surprise, and I could see the gunshot wound in his abdomen.

Without even thinking, I ran to his side as he stumbled slightly, dropping the gun as he fell to the floor. Nadia scooped it up, aiming it at me and stopping me in my tracks just a few steps from my father. I looked in shock from him up to her face, seeing the determined look there.

"I _told_ you to stay out of this," she snapped.

"Sydney… Go," I heard my father choke out. I looked down at him, seeing blood flowing rather freely out of his wound and over his fingers. My eyes went back up to Nadia. I had my gun aimed at her still, and I could see Sloane watching us out of the corner of my eye.

"No," I refused. "I won't let Sloane get his hands on that artifact." Nadia smiled cruelly.

"Then you will die."

OOOOO

I didn't even bother to secure Sark before making my way into the other room. The light I saw came from some small objects scattered on the floor. When I stepped into the large room, the first thing I noticed was how many different paths there were. I didn't know which one would lead me to the correct room, and didn't want to waste anymore time looking around for the right path.

After a couple of moments, however, I heard a gunshot. It was pretty easy to figure out where it came from, and I started down the last corridor on the right-hand side of the room. As I got closer, I heard another shot, followed soon after by some yelling and a third shot, much louder this time.

I cursed myself, once again, for letting Sark trick me into hitting the wall and leaving me with my very unsteady right hand to try and hold my gun. I followed the corridor until I saw that same orange light coming from somewhere at the end of the path, much brighter than it was in the rest of the temple. I stepped into the room, shocked at the sight before me.

Near the door, leaning against the wall to my right, I saw Irina. She clutched a wound in her shoulder, watching everyone else with a kind of grim expression on her face. Not far from her I saw Jack, pale and unconscious and bleeding from a gunshot to the stomach. On the far side of the room, I saw my father, either unconscious or staying down for the moment to avoid being hit. Next to him stood Sloane, holding a gun but watching the center of the room.

In the center of the room stood Sydney and Nadia, one of them on either side of a large pedestal with some kind of round, shimmering blue object sitting on it. They both held guns, aimed at each other.

"You all understand that if things continue to progress this way, _everyone _will end up dead," Sloane stated, sounding less than amused with the events thus far. I saw Sydney look over at me, relieved to know that I was all right but still keeping most of her attention focused on Nadia.

"Sydney, Nadia, don't do this," Irina pleaded, looking over at her daughters. I knew both of them listened to her words, but neither made a move to stop the confrontation. "Please, no good can come of this."

A long, very tense moment passed over the room. Sloane kept his eyes on the artifact sitting on the pedestal, which I assumed was the greatest power. I glanced down at Jack, knowing that he didn't stand much of a chance if this whole standoff didn't get resolved soon.

I looked over at Sydney again, our eyes locking once more. Silently, I tried to plead with her to just drop her gun. I knew that letting Sloane get the artifact would be devastating, but had to admit that Sloane was right. If everyone just kept shooting each other, _no one_ would make it out of here alive.

Even without saying anything, I understood the emotions I saw in Sydney's eyes. She wanted to keep Sloane away from the artifact. She thought she stood some chance to get it away from him, to _force_ this to go our way. I just shook my head a little, stating the obvious. We already lost this fight.

She narrowed her eyes a little, clenching her jaw and looking back at her sister. Finally, she lowered her weapon. Nadia seemed surprised, but realized what happened and shot a glance over in my direction before turning to her father.

"I'm glad we're all in agreement," Sloane stated. He smiled a little as he stepped up to the pedestal, gently lifting the artifact up off the stone. It didn't look like it was very heavy. He started back to the door, Nadia following him and keeping her weapon at the ready in case anyone tried anything.

"You won't get away with this," Sydney said to Sloane through clenched teeth. He looked back at her, smiling and shaking his head a little.

"Oh, my dear Sydney," he stated sadly. "I already have."


	52. Chapter Fifty Two

**Chaos Theory**  
EPISODE 4.14

I didn't really start thinking about everything until everyone returned safely to Los Angeles. Or rather, as safely as the present circumstances allowed.

I was at the hospital, trying to keep an eye on my father as well as on Vaughn. Vaughn was in decent shape, but several of the bones in his left hand got broken. He told me he got into a fight with Sark and accidentally hit the wall, and the doctors took him off somewhere for x-rays, not allowing me to follow.

Most of my concern, however, was reserved for my father. After Sloane shot him in the temple in Egypt, he lost consciousness. With some help from the military support Dixon and Weiss called into the desert, we got him to a local hospital. He was there for two days before getting a flight back to Los Angeles. He still hadn't regained consciousness, and all the doctors told me was that he 'lost a lot of blood' and he 'needed to remain under observation'.

And that there was nothing I could do.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Sloane had the artifact. The final artifact in the whole Rambaldi mystery, and the one that Rambaldi himself specifically _asked_ me to keep out of Sloane's hands. I hadn't expected Nadia to side with her father when things came down to it, but she turned on me again and would have killed me if Vaughn didn't convince me to lower my weapon and let them leave. I imagined Sark was with them somewhere, but we had no way of tracking them now. No one saw them leave, which meant there was another passage somewhere that allowed them to escape undetected.

Dixon and Weiss managed to convince Vaughn's father to go back to the CIA, to tell them everything he knew about the Rambaldi artifact and what kind of dangers it might pose, now that it was in Sloane's hands. I didn't know how well that situation might work out, but knew that Bill would remain in debrief for several days, if not longer. He'd been missing for over twenty years, and the agency would have a lot of questions for him, primarily why he faked his dearth and vanished.

I talked to Will as soon as we got back to LA, telling him that everything with Newman got sorted out. The other director that Dixon went to – Director Brendan – had Newman arrested and taken into NSA custody for his collaboration with Sloane. Will insisted on coming back to Los Angeles as well, figuring he might be able to help with tracking Sloane down, or finding some way to get the greatest power away from him. I knew it was a risk, but I was willing to take any allies I could get.

And then there was the question of my mother. I still didn't know if she was on my side or Sloane's, or if she was simply on her own side as she always had been. As soon as the backup showed up in the desert, the CIA took her into custody. I had to fight with Director Brendan, who I knew took charge of operations at the Rotunda after the revelation Newman's true alliances, to keep my mother from being shipped off somewhere to be tortured, or executed right then and there. After three hours on the phone screaming and arguing, I finally got my way, and my mother would remain at the Rotunda for seventy-two hours.

Once I was sure that things were settled for the moment at the hospital, I went to the Rotunda to have a word with my mother. After her display in Egypt, I wanted to see if there was some reason behind her actions. I also wanted to know anything she knew about the Rambaldi artifact, especially since any of the information that came from Vaughn's father would take weeks to go through the proper channels before it got to me. I needed to know something sooner than that.

She was in the basement, back in the same cell she spent several months in the first time she turned herself in to the CIA. Her right arm was in a sling; due to the gunshot wound I gave her. She looked over at me when I stepped into the hall, and I imagined my appearance wasn't much better than hers. I hadn't slept much since Egypt, and rather than changing just to come and visit her, I was still wearing an old pair of track pants and a sweatshirt, my hair pulled back behind my head.

"I wondered how long it would be before you came here," she said, looking away and locking her eyes on something on the far side of the cell. "You want to know why I turned on your father."

"You've done it before. The reasons why don't really matter to me that much anymore," I snapped in reply. She didn't look at me, but I could see – even through her icy exterior – that my comment wounded her. "I want to know everything you know about that Rambaldi artifact. What it does, how dangerous it is, how to stop it, how to find it. _Everything_."

"What makes you think I know any of that?" she questioned, finally looking over at me again. I clenched my jaw, staring at her coldly for a long moment.

"You have to know something. You searched for it too," I finally replied. She sighed, and didn't say anything for several minutes.

"All I know is that it was Rambaldi's link to his power," she answered, shaking her head a little. "Whatever it was that gave him the ability to see the things he did, to create artifacts out of components that didn't exist yet, that ability came through the artifact in that temple."

"So you're telling me that's some kind of… Conduit to a higher power?" I questioned skeptically. She shrugged her good shoulder. "And if Sloane finds some way to use it?"

"An artifact like that, Sydney, could be either a gift or a weapon," she answered. "In the hands of Arvin Sloane, I'm sure you understand what consequences you face."

"_You _let him walk out of there with it," I started.

"That was to protect you and your sister," she snapped, looking over at me before I could continue. "I knew what would happen if I allowed you to fight over it, and I had to stop that from happening."

"By threatening my father?" I questioned. She nodded sadly.

"I couldn't think of another way to keep you and Nadia from destroying each other," she stated, shaking her head a little. I could see the sadness in her eyes, and if she tried to mask it on her face, she failed at doing so. "I thought I could prevent any of that from happening."

"Handing that artifact to Sloane wasn't an _option_," I snapped, shaking my head in disbelief at her rationalization.

"What would you have done?" she questioned, looking over at me seriously. "If it came down to the people you loved the most in the world? Let them die?" I didn't respond, and she nodded a little.

For several minutes, neither of us said a word. I didn't quite know what to make of her actions. But, I had to remind myself that was _always _the case when it came to my relationship with my mother. I never really knew what she thought or planned, or how to make sense of the things she did. It was like that with my father a good deal of the time as well.

Occupational hazard.

"How is Jack?" I looked up, seeing that my mother was watching me again. I didn't reply for a moment, and then shook my head a little.

"He hasn't woken up yet," I replied quietly. She nodded a little, and I was pretty sure I could see tears in her eyes. I looked away; aware of the effect her display of emotion would have on me and not wanting to give her that kind of power. "I should get back."

OOOOO

After three trips from the exam room to radiology and back again, the doctors at the hospital finally decided on the best way to cast my left hand so that it would heal properly. I stopped paying attention to most of what they did or said, trying to focus on what happened in Egypt and where everything would go from here.

I still didn't really know what happened inside that temple, or where everyone ended up. I knew Sloane and Sark got away, and that Nadia was presumably still with them. Sydney was at the hospital as well, and I saw her briefly before the doctors drug me off to radiology for the first round of x-rays. She mentioned that her father was here as well, but didn't say much else.

After being left alone for over an hour, I started to get restless. I decided to go try and find out about Jack on my own, and then maybe make my way back to the Rotunda in hopes of finding out what happened to my father. I figured Weiss and Dixon were there, and hoped he was with them.

I managed to get my shirt on over the cast on my left hand without tearing the sleeve, which was more of a challenge than I expected. I was in the process of trying to fasten the buttons with my right hand when I heard a voice from the doorway.

"I don't think you're supposed to be doing that." I glanced up, seeing Sydney leaning against one side of the doorframe, smiling a little in amusement at my struggle with the buttons. I shrugged a little, sitting back on the bed as she came into the room.

"Yeah, well, no one's been around to tell me otherwise, so…" I trailed off, letting my actions explain themselves in the complete absence of the doctors. Sydney stepped up beside the bed, taking over for me with the buttons. I smiled a little at her. "Thanks."

"I went to see my mother," she stated suddenly. "Director Brendan has her back at the Rotunda for seventy-two hours, and then they're moving her somewhere."

"Where?" I questioned, seeing her concern for her mother evident on her face, despite Irina's apparent betrayal in Egypt.

"I don't know – they won't tell me," she answered. "It's all being run through the FBI so they can use their own level of classification and not tell me anything. You know, more bureaucratic crap."

"What about your father?" I asked, kind of wanting to steer the conversation away from Sydney's mother. I still didn't know where I stood when it came to Irina Derevko. At first, it was easy to hate her because she was the woman that murdered my father. Now, I knew that wasn't the case at all, and I had to try and re-think the whole situation all over again.

"He's still unconscious," Sydney answered sadly. "They want to keep him under observation, and all I know is that he lost a lot of blood and there's a chance he might slip into a coma. They're trying to prevent that by keeping him monitored, but the doctor didn't sound too optimistic."

"I'm sorry." She shook her head a little, understanding what I meant immediately and trying to dismiss my concerns just as fast.

"I don't know what to do now," she explained after a moment, sighing heavily. "No one knows where Sloane will go with Rambaldi's greatest power, or what he might be able to do with it. The only other person that might know is your father, and Brendan is going to have him in debrief for days."

"Your mother doesn't know anything?" I questioned.

"She says she doesn't. I don't believe her, but I have no way of making her give me that information. I have nothing to offer her, even if she _does_ cooperate. And if the FBI is just going to have her shipped off and executed, she doesn't really seem to care about the rest of us."

"Maybe we can go back to Brendan, try and work something out."

"I had to fight with her for three hours just to get her to leave my mother alive and at the Rotunda this long. She's not going to budge any further, and what's worse is that pushing her might make her go back on _this_ deal." I just nodded a little. "And the only person who might be able to make her talk…"

"Is unconscious," I finished for her, knowing that she meant Jack. She nodded in agreement.

"I just don't know what we do next anymore," she continued after a pause. She sighed again, finishing with the buttons on my shirt and dropping her hands to her sides. "I feel like we let Sloane get all the cards and now we have to wait for him to make a move."

"He won't wait that long before he tries to use that artifact somehow," I stated, shaking my head a little.

"I know; that's my point. I mean, it might give us something to go on, some kind of clue or location if he uses it, but we don't even know what might happen. The greatest power could be some kind of a weapon – innocent people could _die_ before we even know where to start looking. And even then, we still don't know what we're looking _for_, and-"

"Hey," I interrupted, stopping her rant by placing my good hand over hers, making her look up at me before I continued. "We'll figure it out. That's what we do best, right?" She smiled a little at that. "Let's just get over to the Rotunda and see what we can learn there."

OOOOO

I checked on my father one last time before Vaughn and I left the hospital, going straight back to the Rotunda to try and sort out whether anyone knew anything about the artifact Sloane had, and where we might find him. It wasn't long before we found Weiss, and managed to track Dixon down and take our little 'meeting' off to one corner of the room. Both of them looked as tired as I felt, and I knew it had been a long day for all of us.

"I just got off the phone with Kendall," Weiss offered. "He says he might be able to dig something up from the archives at Project Black Hole and get it over here, but it might take a couple of days before he finds anything."

"We might not have that much time," I replied, shaking my head in disbelief. I found myself increasingly frustrated with the red tape and bureaucracy of the agency lately, and while I knew there wasn't much I could do about it, I still felt like calling Kendall myself and telling him to work faster.

"What about the samples from the temple, those metal objects you found on the floor of the central room?" Dixon asked, looking over at me and choosing not to acknowledge my concerns about our lack of time. "Have any of those been submitted for analysis?"

"Yeah, Marshall has a couple of other techs with him, they're trying to figure out what it is or how it works or _something_ beyond 'ooh, shiny'," Weiss shot back sarcastically. Despite myself, I smiled at his comment. "Last time I checked they had it narrowed down to some kind of formula encoded in the structure of the object and a bunch of other techno-babble I couldn't make heads or tails of."

"And you're sure your mother doesn't know anything?" Dixon asked me.

"All she told me was that it was Rambaldi's link to whatever 'higher power' there was that gave him the ability to create those artifacts, to make his prophecies. She said something about how it could be a gift or a weapon, and that it wasn't a good thing to be in Sloane's hands," I explained.

"And yet she handed it over to him anyway," Weiss threw in. Dixon shot him a look, obviously growing tired of his sarcastic comments about everything. "Sorry – lack of sleep makes me cranky."

"Maybe you should try speaking with her again, see if she's more responsive now," Dixon offered.

"There's not much chance of that. She's not the kind of person to just give anyone answers on good faith alone, and I have nothing to offer her. With Brendan in control of this facility for now, I don't stand much chance of cutting a deal," I replied, knowing that Brendan wouldn't give me anything more, especially after our argument earlier.

"Maybe someone else should try talking to her," Vaughn offered. "Might give us something."

"I'll try it," Dixon said.

"Thanks," I told him. He smiled at me, nodding a little before starting off to find Director Brendan and try and negotiate with her further.

"How's your dad?" Weiss asked, turning to me in question.

"Stable for now, but they don't know how long it might take before he comes to," I replied. Weiss just nodded a little. I knew he wasn't exactly comfortable around my father – after all, there weren't many people that were – but could tell he felt concerned about his well-being. "Someone should go check up with Marshall, see how his analysis is coming."

"I'll go," Vaughn said, smiling a little at Weiss. "Save you from the techno-babble."

"Thank you, you have _no_ idea how much I appreciate that," Weiss replied. "Besides, that'll give me the chance to talk to Kendall, see if I can badger him enough to get it together and give us some answers." He nodded a little to Vaughn and I before he started off to his desk. I looked over at Vaughn.

"What are you going to do?" he questioned.

"I'm going to go talk to my mother."


	53. Chapter Fifty Three

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N:** I know, it's been AGES since I updated. I am so, SO sorry about that. After the Season Four finale, well... I was sent into an understandable state of shock and disbelief, and had to sort out a theory for that one so I didn't go totally insane. Which, unfortunately, kept me from even touching this for about three months. And, as I said, I am immensely sorry about that. (Work hasn't exactly been helping my creativity either, which I just HATE.)

Anyway, thank you to **Jackie, freitazal, Gils, ArodLoverus2001, **and **Mizzle fo' Rizzle **for reviewing Chapter 52. Hope I didn't lose anyone over the long absence, and here's Chapter 53 for you. Hopefully I'll have 54 by next week.

OOOOO

"I want the truth this time."

My mother looked up at me from her position, seated on the small cot she used for a bed. Her eyes narrowed at the determined expression on my face, but she made no move to get up or respond to my demand. I raised my eyebrows slightly, inviting her to explain.

"I already told you everything I know," she finally allowed, looking back at the wall across the cell. I figured she was lost in her thoughts somewhere, but didn't really mind interrupting her.

"I don't believe that," I replied.

"Then that's your problem and not mine, Sydney," she snapped back. Her tone caught me slightly off guard; I didn't expect the venom in her voice. "I told you what I know about the artifact and what might happen now that Sloane has it. If you choose not to believe me, fine. You're a big girl. Make your own decision."

For several moments, I didn't know how to respond. I had the feeling she made some kind of reference to what happened in Egypt – that maybe I should have listened to her when she said what she did was in everyone's best interest. She had her eyes focused on the wall again, and wasn't going to offer me anything else unless I made some kind of first step.

"I know you wanted to help in Egypt, and that's why you let Sloane have the artifact," I finally allowed. She looked over at me, the angry expression gone from her face. "There's nothing I can do about it now, and getting mad at you isn't going to solve anything. I just need you to tell me anything you know, something that might give us the chance to resolve all of this before more innocent people get hurt in the cross-fire."

"I don't know what the artifact does," she replied, shaking her head and standing. She walked over to the glass, keeping her eyes locked on mine as she moved. "No one ever knew, not even Rambaldi himself. I know Sloane thinks that, through some scientific alteration of the artifact itself, he can channel some kind of 'higher power' through himself into this world."

"What do you mean, 'higher power'?" I questioned.

"Just before Rambaldi's disappearance, the Catholic church excommunicated him for his claim that science would allow man to know God. Sloane believes that this artifact will allow him to establish a connection with whatever power gave Rambaldi his visions, and showed him how to make or find the materials he used to create all of his other artifacts," she explained. "He believes it will also grant him immortality, which was another of Rambaldi's obsessions."

"But using that artifact could backfire. It could kill hundreds of other people, Sloane included," I realized.

"Yes," my mother answered, nodding slightly. "Because no one knows what the artifact is truly capable of, it's highly unlikely Sloane will figure out how to use it correctly on the first attempt. If he fails, there's a good chance he will move on and try again until he achieves whatever outcome he expects." She paused for a long moment, finally shaking her head. "I wish I had something more to offer you, but I don't know what his attempts may do."

"No, it's all right," I replied, shaking my head. I smiled a little at her. "Thank you." I turned to go.

"There's one more thing," my mother admitted suddenly. I stopped, looking over at her in question. "But, in exchange, I want you to do something for me. I want information on Jack's condition, one way or the other, before Director Brendan has me transferred away from here."

"Of course," I answered. I still wasn't sure if I believed her excused about Egypt, but I wanted to think her concern for my father was real. It didn't matter if it really was – I believed it. I could see the emotion on her face, and decided that I would believe it, even it was all a ruse. "What is it?"

"I know where Sloane will go."

OOOOO

"Hey." I glanced up from the rather large pile of documents sitting on my desk, wondering how I was going to make notes on them with a broken hand, seeing Will standing beside me. His glasses dangled from the front of his shirt, which was considerably wrinkled. He looked tired, just like everyone else, and held a folder under one arm with several oversized sheets of copy paper inside. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," I replied, nodding to the chair at the workstation next to mine.

"Thanks," Will said as he pulled the chair over and took a seat. He unfolded his glasses and put them on, opening the folder. I realized that the copies he carried were of the Rambaldi book, and suddenly found myself wondering where he was going with this. "I've been looking at this stuff for the last three hours, and it's all starting to blur together into one big migraine. I was thinking maybe another perspective might help the process."

"I don't know – I have enough trouble figuring out where this thing came from and why it exists in the first place, much less trying to make sense of what it _says_," I replied.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Will replied with a joking smile. He handed me one of the photocopies of the original Page 47. Despite how many times I saw that page over the last several years, the image of Sydney's face on that five hundred year old document still sent a chill down my spine. "Now, I've been looking at this thing for months, and I still haven't made much sense of most of it."

"Pretty common problem," I replied off-hand. Will smiled at that, nodding in agreement with my statement.

"Right. So, I was thinking on the way back from Egypt. The prophecy says that Sydney is supposed to destroy the greatest power, but Sloane got his hands on it before that happened."

"We're trying to find a way to track him; figure out where he is and get the artifact away from him."

"I know. But, I think maybe _that's _what it means by 'vulgar cost'. Sloane getting it first, Jack being in the hospital, Syd's mom being locked up downstairs… Maybe _that_ was what Rambaldi meant." I nodded a little, seeing his point, even though somewhere in the back of my mind I started to think Will lost his. I still didn't think the whole prophecy mess held any weight.

"Why not warn Sydney, then? If Rambaldi knew that all of this was going to happen, why didn't he say anything when Sydney opened the Sphere of Life?"

"Maybe he didn't know. Or, he needed all of this to happen before the artifact could be destroyed. I don't know; that's why I thought maybe the two of us could figure it out."

"Where are Weiss and Dixon?" I glanced back over my shoulder, seeing Sydney approach with a determined expression on her face.

"Weiss is in op tech with Marshall and Dixon's in his office," I replied. "Why?"

"Because I know where Sloane is."

OOOOO

"Moscow? Why?" Dixon asked, looking up at me in question. I managed to round everyone up, including Marshall, and get the entire group into Dixon's office. I told him that my mother finally admitted Sloane's location, telling me that he would take the artifact to an expert scientist that used to work for him out of Moscow.

"Apparently there's some kind of scientific alteration process that Sloane has to use on the artifact to make it work," I replied, shaking my head. "My mother didn't say much else, and the only information she has about the artifact itself is pretty vague."

"Yeah, but does it really _matter_ what it does? Why not just go to Moscow and take this place over, get the thing away from Sloane?" Weiss asked. "Who cares what he wants to do with it?"

"Well, that might be a good idea except for that, well… We don't _know _what this thing does. It could be some kind of bomb or a weapon, and you'd run in there, guns a-blazing, and the thing would go off. Or you might have to try and disarm it, and then it's important to know what you're dealing with in the _first_ place so you don't accidentally _set _it off-" Dixon interrupted Marshall's tangent.

"If Sloane sets some kind of trap, we need to know what we might walk into," he paraphrased, stopping Marshall before he continued rambling.

"Yeah, exactly," Marshall agreed with a nod, smiling a little nervously.

"Still, we don't have the time to go into deep-research mode here," Weiss replied. "If we spend all our time trying to find out how the thing works, we're going to lose track of Sloane."

"Okay, we need some information on this thing, so Marshall can research from here, but someone needs to be on their way to Moscow to track Sloane. Like, _now_," I stated.

"All right," Dixon finally agreed. "Sydney, Vaughn, Weiss, I want the three of you on a plane to Moscow as soon as possible. Marshall, you and Will head to op tech, find whatever you can on this artifact, we'll set up an uplink to the plane and transmit anything you find immediately.

"I'll stay here, monitor the channels and make sure Sloane doesn't know you're coming. The second he knows you're on the way, he'll move to a different location," he finished.

"Okay," I agreed, glancing over at Will. He seemed satisfied with the assignments, even though I could sense his disappointment that he wasn't coming with us to Moscow. I was about to say that everyone should get to work, and that Vaughn, Weiss and I should head for the plane, when Dixon's phone started ringing. I paused for a moment, wanting to see who it was. After all, Brendan was temporarily in charge of the facility after the 'rogue mission' stint we all pulled, and Dixon didn't have much authority _left_ at the moment.

He answered, looking up at me almost immediately. I waited until he was off the phone to find out what it was on before I just turned and walked out the door. He hung up the phone and came back to where the rest of us were standing.

"What is it?" I questioned, looking at him curiously.

"Sydney, that was the hospital," Dixon explained. He paused for a moment, and then smiled. "Your father's awake."

OOOOO

Despite my concern with catching up with Sloane, I knew I should go and make sure my father was all right before all of us left the country, again. Seeing him shot like that in Egypt, and then not even knowing if he was going to be all right, I _had _to see him.

Dixon assured me that he would hold our flight to Moscow until I got back from the hospital. I told him I would try and make the trip as quickly as possible, seeing how anxious everyone was to find Sloane. The sooner we found him, the less chance we faced of him wreaking some kind of unspeakable havoc.

My father was awake and smiled at me slightly when I stepped into his room. I smiled back, going over beside his bed and taking a seat. There was a nurse there, just finishing checking his vitals. She greeted me with a nod as she stepped out of the room, giving the two of us some privacy.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Tired, but I've been told that's to be expected," he replied. "What about Sloane, do you have any leads?" I smiled a little, recognizing that he really felt better when he went straight to business.

"Mom told us he's in Moscow," I answered. "Apparently he needs to alter the artifact he got in Egypt in order to do something with it."

"What?" he questioned.

"No one knows yet. Marshall and Will are going to research it; the rest of us are going to Moscow to try and intercept Sloane," I explained. He nodded a little, thinking for a moment.

"In Algeria, before we opened the Sphere of Life, Sloane mentioned something about a 'tactical' use for Rambaldi's greatest power. I asked him what he meant, but he wouldn't give me any details," he started. "I suppose he wanted to see if I would, in fact, betray him."

"So he thinks it's a weapon?" I asked, confused.

"Perhaps," my father replied. "Why?"

"Well, when I talked to Mom, she told me Sloane thinks there might be some way to use the artifact to… 'Channel' some higher power. That was the word she used," I replied. "Maybe that power _is _the weapon."

"It's a possibility," he stated, nodding a little. He looked over at me seriously. "Sydney… Promise me that you'll be careful, in Moscow. This obsession… Now that Sloane believes he's close to Rambaldi's endgame, he'll become increasingly unpredictable. There's a good chance he expects you."

"I know," I said with a sigh. "But, I can't sit here while he puts innocent people in danger. I know we don't know what he's trying to do, but I think waiting is out of the question."

"I understand that," my father assured me with a nod. "I just want to know that you'll be careful when and if you find Sloane." I smiled at him reassuringly.

"I will. I promise."

"Good." He sighed, the slight smile disappearing from his face as he retreated back into his unemotional outer shell. "You should go – we don't know how long Sloane is going to stay in one place like this."

"All right. I'll see you when we get back."

OOOOO

With Sydney gone to the hospital and Marshall and Will already off in Op Tech trying to get any information they could on the Rambaldi artifact, I was left with the opportunity to do a little of my own research. My father's comment about wanting me to find the 'right choice' bothered me ever since he said it, and I started to wonder if it was something Rambaldi related.

I borrowed the rest of the photocopies from Will – all of the pages he had of the manuscript – but there wasn't anything relevant there. I knew Dixon had access to some of the artifacts the DSR collected, and figured he might be able to get more information for me.

"Dixon, I need a favor," I started, once everyone else went off in his or her own direction. I knew Weiss went to get all of our gear together for the mission to Moscow, and that we leave as soon as Sydney got back from seeing her father at the hospital. "Not now. When we get back."

"What is it?" he questioned, sitting at his desk and looking tiredly up at me.

"You have access to information about Rambaldi through the DSR, right?" I questioned.

"Limited access," Dixon corrected me, nodding.

"I need to see some of the other pages of the manuscript; the one with the prophecy," I stated.

"Why?" he asked. "What is it you're looking for?" I sighed.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure," I started. "But, before going to Egypt, my father said something to me about a 'choice'. Somehow, I think it's involved in all this Rambaldi stuff – I think there might be something in there."

"I can try and get the information by the time you get back from Moscow. Don't count on much, because I'm not sure how much the DSR will share," Dixon replied, shaking his head a little.

"That's fine, just whatever you can get. I'd really appreciate it." Before I could say anything more, Weiss came back into the office.

"Gear's ready, and Sydney's back," he stated. I nodded a little.

"I'll get what I can," Dixon stated again.

"Thank you," I told him before following Weiss out of the office. He looked over at me curiously, wondering what I talked to Dixon about.

"Are we breaking the rules again?" Weiss questioned, sounding a little unsure about the situation. I smiled a little, shaking my head.

"No, just research," I assured him. The two of us met up with Sydney on the way out of the Rotunda, heading for the airstrip.


	54. Chapter Fifty Four

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **I know, I suck. I'm SO SORRY that it's taken so long for me to get back to this one. I've been trying to work on this and get a few chapters ahead of myself so that I have material written, and so that all of it doesn't just seem like filler. Anyway, thanks to **Eyghon, freitazal, Gils, ArodLoverus2001, **and **lj **for reviewing! Also, I'm posting 54 and 55 tonight, since I feel bad about not updating for so long. Enjoy!

OOOOO

The plane was in the air for about fifteen minutes before I started thinking about what we might find in Moscow. I felt a little worried about coming up against Sloane again, mostly because there was a good chance the artifact in his possession was some kind of weapon. However, most of my thoughts weren't about Sloane and the danger he posed.

They were about Nadia.

I knew she would be in Moscow with her father. What I couldn't figure out was which side she was on. Her loyalties became harder to keep track of than Sark's. I remembered my father trying to tell me it was unlikely she was some normal, innocent girl with Arvin Sloane and Irina Derevko as parents, and I was actually starting to believe him.

When the two of us first met, we got along. Then, she vanished to help Sloane look for the Sphere of Life. She started working with Sark and even went so far as to shoot me in Russia. Then, in Algeria she told me she played Sloane just like my parents did, and that she was really on my side after all. Everything she said about working for the Covenant, about not wanting to follow their rule, seemed true. She saved me from Sloane's facility, and then turned around and aimed a gun at me again in Egypt, leaving the temple with Sark and her father.

Was she trying to play them again? Trying to get closer to them and figure out what her father was up to, in hopes of aiding the CIA in stopping him? Or did she play me? Had she gone back to her father, laughing that she so easily convinced me she was on my side to begin with?

Trying to figure all of it out made my head hurt. I wanted to believe that my sister was on my side – that her sudden shift of allegiance in Egypt was either self-preservation or that she was trying to gather more information from Sloane. The one thing that I couldn't get out of my mind was that look she gave me in the temple – that sad expression on her face. I couldn't help but think she expected something out of me and that I failed her.

"You okay?" I looked over at Vaughn, trying my best to smile at him despite my conflicted thoughts.

"Yeah," I replied with a nod.

"Okay, _that _was convincing," Weiss shot in sarcastically. Vaughn kicked the back of his chair. "Ow! Hey, come on, I'm just as bored as you guys are. You gotta at least let me in on the conversation."

"I was just thinking about Nadia," I answered after a moment. Vaughn nodded a little at that. "I mean, whose side is she really on? I can't tell anymore."

"Common problem," Vaughn stated, smiling a little. "Seems to circulate pretty freely in the spy trade."

"No kidding," I replied, shaking my head in disbelief.

"Whose side do you think she's on?" Weiss asked, turning in his chair again to be more a part of the conversation and less a pesky eavesdropper.

"Honestly?" I asked. "I have no idea. In Egypt, it was almost like she expected me to do something – like she was waiting for me to take some kind of action. The only thing was, I don't know what she expected me to _do_."

"Shoot Sloane," Weiss threw in. I just gave him a look, telling him I wasn't amused with his sarcasm. "What? I mean, come on. Maybe it was a ruse – maybe she was waiting for you to take him down. Keeping him off your back by making it look like she was on his side."

"If she had some kind of a plan, why not tell me? Why not tell _any_ of us? Don't get me wrong, improvisation is a huge part of what we do in the field, but how could I know to expect something like that if she didn't tell me?" I asked.

"We'll figure it out," Vaughn assured me as he reached over and rested one hand over mine. I sighed deeply, trying to calm myself after my little outburst.

"Yeah," I agreed. "You're right."

OOOOO

The team landed in Moscow and we went to a warehouse not far from the complex where Irina told us Sloane would probably be. Still, Sydney pointed out that it would be best to make sure we knew his exact location before going in after him. If we infiltrated the wrong building by mistake and one of Sloane's contacts IDed anyone from the CIA, he'd vanish before we realized we had the wrong location.

So, while Weiss worked on getting our computer set up so we would have contact with Will and Marshall back at the Rotunda, Sydney and I went to do some recon. It was dark, luckily, so our black tactical gear helped us blend into the shadows without much trouble. For almost an hour, we just hung around outside the building, trying to get some idea of where Sloane might be.

I saw several workers going in and out of one of the larger buildings, a couple even dressed in white lab coats. I had no idea if they were the same ones that we saw doing analysis on the Sphere of Life in Algeria, but supposed it was a possibility. Then again, the whole place was one big scientific research center, so it was hard to determine if there was something suspicious about the activity, or if it was just normal for that many people to be wandering around.

I glanced over at Sydney, seeing that she seemed focused on the same area. We both used binoculars specially equipped with night vision to make it easier to see in the dim lighting around the outside of the buildings, and she looked through hers at the same building I'd been watching.

"What do you think?" I asked. She shrugged a little, waiting a moment before lowering the binoculars and looking over at me.

"That's a lot of scientists for the middle of the night," she answered. I nodded in agreement, looking off in that direction again. "Still, could be anything." I watched for a moment, trying to zoom in as close as I could to the doors of the building.

"There's a guard at the door," I noted. "Doesn't look military, though."

"Rent-a-cop." I turned to see Weiss had stepped outside with us. "Marshall's got nothing, so infiltration is a go for the moment." I nodded a little.

"That's the building," Sydney stated. I glanced over at her in question. She was watching the same area again. "Two more guys just came outside, and they're definitely not local."

"Anyone we know?" I asked, raising the binoculars to take another look.

"I'll give you one guess," she replied, her voice low.

"Sark," I said with a nod. I could see him just inside the building, talking to one of the guards that had just stepped out for a cigarette. He nodded a little and then closed the door again, blocking my view of whatever else might have been going on inside.

"Can I just _ask_, what is it with these guys and warehouses?" Weiss questioned. I handed my binoculars off to him as Sydney and I headed back inside. Weiss followed after a moment. "Are we going in?"

"Yeah," I replied. Despite the fact that we didn't have a whole lot of time to gather gear and op tech for this mission, Weiss brought along a considerable amount of firepower. I chose an automatic pistol, wanting something with a few more rounds to spread around, but something I could still control with only one hand. Sydney took one Beretta. I couldn't help but smile a little at that – she wasn't really one for guns. Weiss armed himself with one of pretty much everything we had, shrugging a little when I gave him a 'what are you doing' look.

"Okay," Sydney said. "Let's go."

OOOOO

I led the way across to the warehouse, Vaughn beside me and Weiss covering the rear of our little procession. Taking out the first guard outside the warehouse was no problem. The second guy gave Weiss a little bit of trouble, but nothing he couldn't handle. Vaughn and I took one side of the doorway, Weiss on the other.

"All right. I'm going in," I whispered. I held my gun at the ready, opening the door as quietly as I could and staying low to the ground as I moved inside. I knew the element of surprise was about all we had going for us, and I wasn't going to give that up until the last possible second.

Once inside, I could see what all we stood against. There were maybe half a dozen scientists hovering over a computer screen, a few more to the far side of the room with a bunch of test tubes and microscopes, examining something. There were two guards not far from me, up a short ramp onto the raised platform that made up the floor of the building.

In the center of everything was the artifact, on a table with more electrical nodes attached to it than I ever saw before in my life. Sloane stood a few feet from it; Nadia to his left a few paces back. Sark was on the other side, conversing with two more guards. I waved for Vaughn and Weiss to join me inside the building. They did so, crouching down on either side of me so the guards wouldn't see us.

Before I could try and explain any kind of a plan to either of them, the object in the center of the room started shimmering slightly. I could hear a kind of ringing sound coming from the table – like the artifact itself was vibrating. Sloane's attention was completely fixed on it, waiting for it to do whatever it was supposed to do.

One of the guards at the far side of the room saw the three of us, and he immediately started shooting and yelling. The two closest to us turned and took aim as well. I took one of them down immediately, getting to my feet and racing up onto the platform.

Sloane ducked out of the way almost instantly, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. Or caught _period_, I assumed. I shot another of the guards down before Sark came at me, kicking the pistol out of my hand and sending it skittering across the metal platform.

I ducked under another sweeping kick; blocking his fist and pushing him back so I could regain my balance. He spun around and grabbed a large glass beaker off one of the tables, throwing it at me. I put my hands up to shield my face, feeling the glass cut into my forearms when the object shattered.

He didn't slow down, coming at me again with a few quick jabs to my side and a strong shove that left me on my back. I kicked both feet up into his chin, hearing his jaw snap painfully together as I got to my feet. He stumbled back a few paces, giving me the chance to steady myself again.

"Sydney!" I looked up, seeing Nadia toss my gun over to me. I caught it, aiming it at Sark just as he pulled a gun from his belt and aimed it at me.

"Well," he stated with a cocky smirk, blood beginning to drip from one corner of his mouth where I assumed he bit his tongue. "This seems oddly familiar."


	55. Chapter Fifty Five

OOOOO

For a long moment, neither of us moved. I could see Nadia out of the corner of my eye, standing beside Sloane. He had a gun pointed at Weiss, and Vaughn held his weapon on Sloane. The few scientists that didn't flee the building when the shooting began crouched in various corners, trying to avoid getting killed like the guards.

"Interesting dilemma," Sark quipped. "Again." I glanced from him to Sloane, wondering who would be the first person to make some kind of a move this time around. I knew shooting Sark would be risky, but I wasn't going to let Sloane talk me into lowering my gun this time around. He wasn't going to just walk away from this one.

"Put your weapons down," Nadia said, looking to her father pointedly. He seemed a little confused by her demand. "Please – we don't need anyone else getting hurt or killed – this is enough."

"Nadia, you get the artifact and get out of here, we'll follow you soon," Sloane replied. I looked over at her, trying to determine if she was siding with him or siding with us.

"I won't let you keep doing this," she stated, shaking her head. "Was everything you said to me before really just a lie?"

"Nadia, _please_," Sloane said again.

"No," she answered flatly. He narrowed his eyes, seething in anger. Before she had the chance to react, he spun and hit her in the side of the head with his weapon. I fought to keep my own trained on Sark, knowing that he would happily shoot me the second I so much as flinched.

"Drop it, now!" Weiss ordered, taking the time now that Sloane was distracted to ready his weapon and aim it at Sark. He sighed angrily, shaking his head and tossing his gun to the floor. I was about to head for Sloane when Nadia stood up, pulling a gun on her father. She narrowed her eyes, her expression reminding me of our mother.

"The next time you touch me, I will _kill _you," she hissed, her accent thickening in her anger towards her father.

"Fine. You've made your choice," he snapped. "But the next time I see you, we will be enemies."

"There isn't going to be a next time," I stated. "You're under arrest." Sloane looked over at me, smiling a little. Suddenly, there was a high-pitched whine from the center of the room. The artifact emitted a bright flash of light, disorienting me enough that I fell to the ground. I heard shouting and footsteps on the metal platform, and then the door.

By the time I was able to see enough to get to my feet, Sloane and Sark were long gone. I took a quick look around. Weiss and Vaughn seemed all right, and Nadia just seemed saddened by her father's choice to cast her aside in favor of his obsession with Rambaldi.

"That figures," Weiss snapped. "Of course – it's a fifteenth century flash-bang grenade – how come we didn't think of _that _before?"

"Are you all right?" I asked Nadia, going over to where she stood. She looked over at me sadly, nodding.

"He lied to me again. He said he wanted to protect you – all of you – from the artifact's power. He just wanted to keep it for himself," she stated. I could tell she was truly hurt by Sloane's words that they would now be enemies.

"Come on. Let's get out of here."

OOOOO

"Honestly, I don't know what it did _or_ why it did it," Marshall explained with a shrug. Once we got to the plane and everyone settled in, I got the laptop out and hooked up the link to Marshall and Will back at the Rotunda. Weiss found a disc with some information about the greatest power on it, and I sent the data over the link to Marshall to see if he could tell us anything more. "I mean, even the data you sent us doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense."

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"It's nothing – a bunch of computer code," Will pitched in, shaking his head a little.

"Is it binary code?" Sydney asked. I glanced up at her, not even realizing she'd been hovering over my shoulder the whole time.

"No – it's just… Symbols. It might be encrypted," Will replied, holding up one page of the printout. It looked like a bunch of gibberish.

"Wait, let me see if I can run…" Marshall trailed off, his fingers flying over the keyboard at his workstation for a moment. Finally, he sat back a little. "Okay. It looks like, whatever Sloane did to the artifact, that's just the first step. There must be more to the process. This first thing released the flash that you saw. He must have access to more information somehow. He was obviously expecting that reaction and that's how he and Sark got away."

"Can you tell what the next procedure might do?" I asked. Marshall shook his head.

"No, we can't – not with this. But, give me a little time to look this over – I might be able to get a better idea of what this thing might be used for," he answered. "It's almost like the thing itself is computerized somehow – like there are layers of… Never mind," he said quickly off my blank expression. "I'll see what I can learn."

"Thanks." I closed the link, shutting the computer. I heard Sydney sigh, circling around and taking a seat across from me. I could tell by the look on her face that something about all this bothered her.

"What is it?" I asked.

"My mother," she replied with another sigh. She shook her head a little, looking out the window of the plane. "By the time we get back, Brendan will be ready to transfer her."

"She knew where Sloane headed last time. We've got to be able to convince her that we need your mother to help us bring him down," I insisted. She nodded a little, but I could tell she didn't believe me.

"We're going to be lucky if she doesn't suspend all of us for complete incompetence," Sydney replied.

"At least Nadia's all right," I offered, trying to think of some way to comfort her. Nadia and Weiss presently sat at the other end of the plane, talking quietly back and forth.

"Yeah," she agreed with a nod. "And we know it was just Sloane messing with her, not her messing with us."

"Yep," I agreed. She just nodded a little and went back to looking out the window. "We should try and get some sleep."

OOOOO

When the four of us got back to Los Angeles, I noticed that an oddly high number of armed guards wandering around the Rotunda. A quick glance at my watch told me we should still have three and a half hours before my mother's transfer, so I immediately went to find Brendan and find out what was going on.

"Excuse me, Director Brendan?" I questioned as I caught up with her as she came out of Dixon's office. "Why are there so many guards here?"

"Irina Derevko is being transferred out of this facility in thirty minutes," she replied briskly.

"Wait – you said seventy-two hours. We should still have time-" She didn't let me finish.

"Agent Bristow, I realize that you would feel more comfortable with your mother here, especially with your father in the hospital and Sloane having evaded you in Moscow. However, we have no proof that your last mission wasn't a set-up. Until Irina Derevko is transferred out of this facility, we cannot be sure that any of our operations are safe," she explained, stopping briefly.

"Irina Derevko is the _only _person who has any insight _at all_ into Sloane's endgame. She knew where he went last time – she might know where to look or how to track him now that we've lost him," I argued, as the two of us began talking over one another.

"You lost him because of her shady Intel-"

"The operation in Moscow was a failure because no one could have predicted what the artifact might do!"

"-and I will _not _continue to compromise this task force!"

"Is this really because you think she's a risk to the sanctity of this agency or just because you don't _like_ her?" I snapped, lowering my voice when she stopped trying to interrupt me. Her eyes got wide at that comment, and I just rose my eyebrows in honest questioning, refusing to back down.

"I was going to allow you to be a part of the transfer team," she stated. "But if this is how you are going to conduct yourself, consider it a void offer. She will be leaving this facility by the end of the hour. That is all."

She didn't give me another chance to argue, brushing past me and continuing on her way to the downstairs corridor and to the cell where my mother was being held. I sighed, cursing myself for getting out of hand like that and pissing Brendan off even more.

"I almost miss Kendall," I muttered under my breath, turning and heading off to try and find Nadia.

OOOOO

"Agent Vaughn?" I looked up from the report I was trying to type on our mission to Moscow, seeing Director Brendan standing at the edge of my desk. She had a very serious expression on her face.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I need someone from this office to accompany the transfer team. Considering Agent Bristow's lack of respect for authority, that honor now falls to you. Pick up your gear in the armory and meet the team outside in five minutes." Not giving me the chance to ask any questions, she turned and started off again.

I sighed, shaking my head a little in annoyance with her methods and got to my feet, exiting out to the login screen on my computer. I took a quick look around for Sydney, not seeing her anywhere. I wanted to tell her what was going on, but I didn't want to anger Brendan even more. I figured Sydney tried to talk to her already, and it sounded like they just ended up arguing again.

So, I did as she said, picking up a weapon and a vest before heading out to meet up with the rest of the team. I could see the transport van, as well as three sedans that would flank it and make sure nothing happened to compromise the transfer. I still didn't even really know where we were going, but I assumed it was to Camp Harris. That was the closest place, and the FBI seemed particularly fond of it.

"All right, we're all ready?" one of the other agents asked, looking around briefly. "You're with me," he stated, leading the way to the sedan behind the transport van and climbing in the driver's seat. I got in beside him, watching the others go to their respective vehicles. "I'm Davis, by the way. So, what'd you do to Brendan?"

"Sorry?" I asked, not understanding what he meant.

"She usually sticks the people she's mad at on these teams. Boring work, gets us out of her hair for a few hours," Davis replied with a grin, starting the engine. I smiled a little at that, nodding in understanding. "You mouth off to her or something?"

"No, my girlfriend did," I replied easily. I smiled a little at hearing myself refer to Sydney as my girlfriend again. Davis smiled at that, nodding and laughing.

"Lemmie guess – she _wanted_ to be on the team?" he asked.

"Something like that," I replied. He nodded a little, signaling to the other two cars that we were ready to go. The whole convoy pulled out onto the street as one, sticking mainly to back roads as we made our way through the city.

It was a pretty boring drive, especially through afternoon traffic in Los Angeles. I talked to Davis for a bit, and then dropped off into thought. I wondered if there would be a way, when we got wherever we were going, to talk to Irina before we had to get back to the Rotunda. I was hoping to have the chance to see if she knew anything else – the guards outside her cell hadn't allowed Sydney and I in when we first got back from Moscow, which was what prompted Sydney to go to Brendan to begin with.

The convoy moved out of the city and onto the highway heading East, confirming my suspicion that we were heading for Camp Harris. I was about to ask Davis if there would be any way for me to talk to Irina before we left, when one of the other cars radioed back something about incoming fire.

"We're taking fire! Hostiles at nine o'clock!" a voice yelled over the transmitter. I immediately looked to the left side of the car, seeing a very large SUV pull up beside the van. There was a man dressed in all black with a ski mask leaning out the side of the SUV with a machine gun, pumping rounds into the hood of the lead car.

"We'll try to shoot out the tires!" the man in the second car, the one to the side of the van, replied. I saw the guy in the passenger seat, obviously FBI by the nice suit he wore, lean out the window and start shooting at the tires of the SUV with his sidearm.

"Hang on," Davis said to me. He slammed on the brakes, cutting to the right and gunning the engine to get up past the van and try and box the SUV in to take out the driver. As he did so, the driver of the SUV slammed into the lead car, pushing them right into our path. Davis had to swerve onto the shoulder to avoid hitting the other car.

"They're heading for the transport – stop them!" I heard someone yell over the radio. The SUV pulled out in front of the transport. I could see another man stand up out of the sunroof with a harpoon gun. He shot it at the windshield of the van, using the thick cord to pull the windshield – which was bulletproof glass – out of the car. Meanwhile, the first guy – the one with the rifle – continued shooting the lead car.

Eventually, the car couldn't take any more damage and swerved off to the shoulder, coming to a halt. Davis tried to pull up next to the SUV, telling me to hold the wheel as he fired at the guy standing out of the sunroof. He stumbled back, dropping his gun as Davis's shots hit him in the chest.

Suddenly, the SUV slammed on the brakes again, causing the van to rear-end it. The SUV, which I realized was probably armored somehow, took very little damage. The guy with the rifle disappeared inside the car, hauling the dead guy out of the way and using his rifle to shoot the driver and the guard in the passenger seat.

"The transport is taking fire!" Davis yelled, though he didn't have the radio so I had no idea who he was trying to explain this to. He hit the brakes again, jerking the wheel around and turning the car. Three guys piled out of the SUV, blowing a hole in the side door of the van with a shotgun and hauling Irina out.

"We're under heavy fire – we can't get to the transport!" the other team said over the radio. By the time Davis was back beside the SUV, the men got Irina into the car and turned around to head back towards the city. There weren't many other cars on the road, sure, but driving down the wrong side of the highway was still going to make for an interesting experience.

"We'll follow them," Davis said, this time remembering to pick up the radio first. He looked over at me briefly. "Hang on," he said again, slamming his foot down on the gas pedal and chasing after the SUV.

As we drove, the guy with the rifle leaned out the window again and started shooting. I got my gun out, trying to at least discourage him from getting a good shot in at either of us by shooting at the side of the car. Of course, with the speeding car and the lack of both hands to steady the shot, all I hit was the side panel of the car, watching the bullets glance off the vehicle harmlessly.

Davis swore suddenly, and the car swerved out of control. I looked over, seeing blood on his shoulder and several bullet holes in the windshield. The sedan fishtailed violently, finally clipping the guardrail and spinning back into the road, stalling out a moment later.

"You all right?" I asked Davis, turning to him.

"Yeah, fine," he replied, swearing again and smacking the wheel. It looked like only one of the shots actually hit him, and it just grazed his right shoulder. "So much for 'boring job'."

OOOOO

I had to look around for a while before I found Nadia in the break room. She sat at the table in the center of the room with a cup of coffee, looking over some protocol information Brendan gave her. There didn't seem to be any real question about her loyalty once she explained what happened in Moscow, which was a relief. I knew the last thing she needed was to go through a bunch of boring question-and-answer sessions to determine if she was really on our side. Plus, her knowledge of Sloane was an asset we couldn't afford to sacrifice right now.

"Hey," I said with a smile, closing the door behind me as I entered.

"Hey," she replied, trying to return the smile. I came over to the table, sitting down to her left.

"How are you?" I questioned.

"You mean physically or emotionally?" she asked with a small grin.

"I mean whatever you mean," I stated. She sighed deeply, looking away and shaking her head after a moment.

"I don't know," she finally answered. "At first, I was so angry with him. My father. I knew he wasn't telling me everything before, which was why I left and came to you. In Egypt, I thought maybe if I went back to him, he would tell me the truth. That if I could figure out what was going on, I wouldn't feel so helpless.

"But he just lied to me all over again," she continued, pausing for a moment. "I don't know why it surprises me. I know all about him – the things he's done in the past. Still…"

"It still hurts when the people you love lie to you," I stated, speaking from personal experience. "Even when you see it coming."

"Yeah," she agreed with a nod. "It does." I smiled softly at her, trying to be reassuring. She smiled back, looking back down at the information in front of her. "Brendan gave me these to sign. She says once I give them back to her, she'll give me a badge and clearance codes and everything."

"That's great," I stated. "I'm glad you're… Here," I finished, lacking a better term. I started saying 'I'm glad you're on my side', but I figured that wouldn't be appropriate with the way she felt about her father at the moment.

"Me too," she replied with a smile. My cell phone rang, interrupting our conversation.

"Excuse me," I said, standing and going out to the hallway to answer. Nadia seemed to understand – she couldn't have access to too much information until after she signed all the non-disclosure agreements and everything. "Yeah?"

"It's me," Vaughn replied.

"Hey. Where are you?" I questioned, suddenly realizing I hadn't seen him in a while.

"Brendan asked me to take your place on the transfer team," he answered. I sighed, nodding a little and leaning back against the wall.

"Are you on your way back?" I asked after a moment.

"Yeah," he replied. "But, Syd, there's something you should know."

"What?"

"The convoy was hit. Your mother escaped."


	56. Chapter Fifty Six

**Disclaimer: **same

**A/N: **Once again, sorry for the long delay. The harder I try to chase my muse down, the more she avoids me. Anyway, thanks to everyone that reviewed the last chapter, and so sorry that it took me this long to get another one posted. I really am trying to finish this story, so just bear with me a bit longer!

**Jailbreak **  
EPISODE 4.15

Only about twenty minutes passed before half the office descended into chaos. I told Brendan that the team got compromised, and she immediately took off to try and get someone to track the car that my mother was in. Once she was out of my hair, I called Vaughn back to make sure he was all right and no one else on the team was injured. I just hung up when Weiss came running over to my workstation.

"What's going on?" he questioned.

"Someone attacked the transfer team, my mother got away," I answered with a sigh.

"Do we know who it was?" Weiss asked.

"No," I replied, shaking my head.

"Dixon wants us in his office. Apparently Marshall's got something from the data we found in Moscow," Weiss said after a moment. I followed him to Dixon's office, seeing that Marshall and Will already waited there.

"Hey," I greeted both of them, smiling at Will. He looked tired, but he and Marshall seemed to get along pretty well. "What have you got?"

"Well, according to this, there are three more procedures that Sloane needs to run the artifact through before he can use it," Marshall began, laying out a bunch of pages of computer code on Dixon's desk. "Now, as you can see, this is the code right now. When we first looked at it, it didn't seem like it meant anything. But, the thing is, there are pieces that _are_ accurate. The sequence isn't complete yet, that's why some of it is just… Gibberish."

"What exactly _is _all of this?" Weiss asked, gesturing to the papers.

"The artifact is built in layers. Each layer has a certain sequence of code. Once Sloane decrypts all of them, he should be able to figure out how to assemble the sequence," Will answered, giving us the shorthand rather than Marshall's overly technical explanation that wouldn't have made any sense to us.

"How do you know there are three more procedures to run?" Dixon asked.

"Easy," Marshall said with a shrug. "May I, um…" He pointed to the computer and Dixon nodded. Marshall circled the desk, pulling a flash drive out of his pocket and connecting it to the computer. "Of course we don't have the proper coding sequence because we're not sure how to decrypt the rest of the layers, but based on what it might look like, well…" He shrugged again, turning the monitor.

On the display was a 3-D image of the Eye of Rambaldi.

"That figures," Weiss muttered under his breath.

"That's how Sloane is going to know how to assemble the layers of code," Marshall continued. "See? The first two are the sides, and the second two go in the middle. I don't know exactly how that works yet, because of course I can't extrapolate the right amount of data with what we have."

"There's no way to tell what this thing might do once Sloane gets it working?" I questioned. Marshall shook his head.

"We've got a couple ideas, but nothing solid. Nothing _good_ either," Will answered.

"You know, probably some kind of 'weapon-of-mass-destruction' type thing. I mean, in Sloane's hands, of course it's bad, but judging from the bits of sequence I was able to run… It doesn't look good," Marshall added.

"We need to find out where Sloane is going next and stop him before he has the chance to assemble the full code," Dixon stated.

"Maybe now that Irina's out of CIA custody, we can get her to help," Weiss stated. I nodded a little. If we could find and contact my mother without Brendan finding out, her help would be instrumental in bringing down Sloane.

"What about Nadia?" Dixon asked me.

"I already asked her – she has no idea where Sloane might go," I replied, shaking my head. "He didn't tell her, just in case something happened. Didn't want us to be able to track him down."

"You know, we might be able to narrow the list down," Will stated. I turned to him, seeing a thoughtful expression on his face. "I mean, judging by what we've got here, we can figure out what the next step could be and get you a list of possible locations."

"Hey, yeah," Marshall agreed, smiling and nodding. "Yeah, we could do that. I'll bet there are only a dozen or so facilities in the world equipped to handle this kind of chemical alteration."

"Good. Get started on that," Dixon said, dismissing Marshall and Will. I could hear Marshall saying something about how he wished he thought of that before Will. "Weiss, I think you're right. Trying to get Irina in on this could prove useful."

"I'll look into it," Weiss said with a nod, already understanding what Dixon wanted him to do and heading out of the room. I looked over at Dixon.

"You know we're all going to get in trouble again," I stated with a smile. He smiled back, nodding in agreement.

"If it gives us Sloane?" he asked after a moment. "Do whatever you need to."

OOOOO

Predictably, things were a mess as soon as word got around the transfer team got hit and Irina got away. I had to figure it wasn't something she planned – she wasn't at the Rotunda long enough to contact any of her associates and sort something like that out. Unless, of course, it was a secondary protocol of some kind she set up beforehand, and now there was practically no way of knowing.

I saw Will first, and he told me that Sydney went to the naval hospital to speak with her father about something, but that she'd return before long. I didn't know what everyone was up to, but knowing Sydney, I was pretty sure she would try and find a way to contact her mother now that she was out of custody. Hell, as far as we knew, Irina was the only one that could help us now.

So, rather than trying to track everyone else down, I headed for the office at the end of the back hall, where my father went through debriefs and meetings and who knew what else. I was rather surprised to see they seemed to be taking a break, and I saw my father sitting on one of the benches just outside the office.

"Hey," I greeted him, nodding slightly.

"I heard about what happened. Are you all right?" he questioned, looking me over for a moment just like any concerned parent would do. For a second, it made me uncomfortable, but I realized he really was concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered after a moment. "The guy I was riding with, he took a shot to the shoulder, but he should be all right." My father just nodded a little. "So, did they tell you about Irina or did you just hear it in passing?"

"No, they told me," he replied. "Everything seems to be running smoothly, so they don't have too many reservations about telling me things. At least, not for now." I just nodded. "You can have a seat if you like."

"No, I'm… Sydney should be getting back soon," I lied, gesturing vaguely back to the larger part of the room. I reminded myself that I still didn't really know what his agenda or aims in all of this might be, and I had to be careful not to just trust him right off the bat. I saw that end badly too many times to try it for myself.

"I imagine they'll have me transferred somewhere overnight," my father continued, looking off across the hall as he spoke. "If things keep going well, tomorrow will be the last day of all this, and I can get back to helping do some good around here." I didn't say anything for a long moment.

"I'll see if I can find out where they're transferring you," I finally said. "Maybe I'll stop by." He looked up at me, smiling and nodding.

"I'd like that."

OOOOO

Considering I could only think of one person that might have any hope of tracking my mother, I went back to the hospital in hopes my father would know something. With his lack of knowledge about Sloane's plans or about her apparent trickery to keep Nadia and I from fighting, however, I wasn't entirely sure that he would have anything to contribute. Still, just sitting around would drive me insane, and I wanted to make sure he was feeling better anyway.

I pulled into the underground parking garage, taking one of the spaces further away from the elevators. It was the middle of the day, and there always seemed to be a lot of activity at the hospital. I didn't mind the walk – between Sloane and my increasingly difficult and unpredictable family, I felt like I needed a second to just clear my head.

I stopped when I heard a slight clinking sound off to my left. It sounded almost like someone clinking car keys together. I glanced off to the left, but I didn't see anyone. Normally, sounds like that wouldn't raise any particular suspicion. I was sure the only reason I noticed it was because my senses had been on high alert since Egypt. Still, there was something that just didn't seem quite right about that noise.

After a moment, I heard whispering. I took a couple of careful steps in that direction, wondering who else was down here with me. Running into someone would be perfectly normal, considering how many people came and went on a daily basis, but someone that wanted to avoid being seen? That definitely aroused suspicion.

"Step around the corner." I stepped away at the sound of a man's voice, confused for a moment. "If you want help finding your mother, you're gonna have to come around the corner, Bristow."

One hand on the hilt of my gun, I rounded the corner. Leaning up against the side of the concrete support, I saw McKennas Cole. He had a solid black suit on, tailored and just barely hiding the shape of a gun under his jacket.

"Cole," I stated, not moving my hand away from my gun. "What are you doing here?"

"I spent the better part of three hours studying diagrams, but I finally figured out that this is the one spot in the whole garage that the cameras can't quite pick up," he answered, nodding a little.

"Not what I meant," I snapped.

"I know it's not," he replied with a little laugh. After a moment, the smile fell from his face and he looked at me seriously. "I know where Derevko is."

"The extraction. That was you?" I questioned.

"Sadly, no. Though I would like to claim credit for that. Nice job. Not too smooth, but definitely got a lot of bang for my buck." He grinned again. I didn't respond for a long moment, finally realizing that he was waiting for me to ask the inevitable question.

"What do you want?" He nodded.

"Despite our… Issues, in the past, our interests seem to have aligned these past few days," he answered. "Especially where Arvin Sloane is concerned."

"You're saying you want to cooperate to bring down Sloane?" I questioned.

"That _is_ what I'm saying," he replied. "I have a lot of good friends in even better places, and seeing all of them get imprisoned or killed, well… Let's just say I'd like to preserve those interests. To most of us, Rambaldi isn't a prophet – he's a paycheck. If Sloane gets his hands on this thing first, I _lose_ said paycheck. So…"

"You paid someone to extract my mother from CIA custody, and now you want all of us to team up and stop Sloane," I finished.

"Two points to the lovely young brunette," Cole quipped. "Now, you could shoot me. You could scream and yell and have me arrested, but if you want to find Derevko – which I'm guessing is what brought you to visit dear old dad in the first place – you'll let me walk out of here. You'll find instructions on your next step and how to contact me back at the CIA."

I dropped my hand away from my gun. Despite the fact that I didn't trust Cole, I knew that getting back in contact with my mother was my only hope of finding Sloane. Once again, I was faced with the lesser of two evils. Besides, Cole wasn't as slick as he thought – once all of this was over, there was no _way_ he would avoid going to prison.

"Fine," I replied. He smiled.

"Excellent. Nice to be working with you again, Miss Bristow. I'll hear from you soon." He turned just as a black sedan with heavily tinted windows pulled up right beside where we stood. He climbed in – avoiding the cameras – and closed the door.


End file.
